The first child with antibodies against Covid-19 was born in the USA, from a vaccinated mother

It happened in Florida and in a few hours the news went around the world. A health worker, vaccinated with a first dose of Moderna’s anti-Covid serum at the 36th week of pregnancy, gave birth – three weeks later – to a healthy baby girl with Covid-19 antibodies. For doctors, this newborn represents, in the United States, the first recognized case of a baby born with coronavirus antibodies from a vaccinated mother.

Dr. Paul Giblert and Dr. Chad Rudnick presented their findings in a shared study awaiting publication.

The two researchers explained that gantibodies were detected at the time of delivery, after analyzing the baby’s umbilical cord blood taken immediately after birth and before delivery of the placenta. “We have shown that SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies are detectable in a newborn’s umbilical cord blood sample after only a single dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine,” they noted. “Therefore, there is the potential for protection and reduction of the risk of Sars-CoV-2 infection with maternal vaccination.”
Doctors point out, however, that more research is needed to verify the safety and efficacy of coronavirus vaccines during pregnancy.

It was already known that mothers previously infected with the virus can pass antibodies to their newborns. Furthermore, the passage of antibodies from mother to baby through the placenta is well documented in other vaccines, including that for influenza; for this reason, doctors hoped that the same neonatal protection would be possible after maternal vaccination against Covid-19.

“The alignment of the Covid vaccine really begins with those vaccines we already use in pregnant women, such as the flu,” said Dr. Neeta Ogden, internal medicine specialist and immunologist at CBSN. “We really need it. , however, significant data on how safe it is in pregnant women ». It is equally true, however, that these early findings may offer pregnant women more reasons to consider vaccination.
Since there are no Covid vaccines approved for children yet, “If this kind of maternal transmission of antibodies, from vaccine to newborns, happens and is safe, I think it’s a really big step in the right direction.The immunologist then added.

To support these results, there are also other recent studies. The Massachusetts General Hospital, for example, it recently analyzed the immune responses of 131 women – 84 pregnant, 31 breastfeeding, and 16 non-pregnant – who had all received Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. From the analyzes, Equally strong immune responses were found in pregnant and lactating women. Furthermore, antibodies appeared present in the placenta and in the breast milk of each sample collected. “The antibodies generated by the maternal vaccine were detected in the umbilical cord blood of all 10 babies who gave birth during our study period,” said study co-author Dr. Andrea Edlow, specialist in maternal-fetal medicine. . “Our data suggest that receiving both doses of the mRNA vaccine leads to better transfer of antibodies to infants.”

A another study conducted in Israel found antibodies in all 20 women tested who received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine, both during the third trimester and in their newborns, including via placental transfer.

In fact, pregnant women were excluded from the first trials of administration of Moderna and Pfizer / BioNtech COVID-19 vaccines, a common practice in such studies. Last month, Pfizer, however, has announced that it has started the first large-scale trial of its vaccine on pregnant women, which it plans to finish by the beginning of 2023.. The Pfizer / BioNtech vaccine, approved for use in the United States in December 2020, has already been administered to millions of people, including thousands of pregnant women.
Modern has not started trials focused on pregnancy at the moment, but created a registry to monitor pregnant women who are given her vaccine.
Johnson & Johnson, the last company to receive authorization for its Covid vaccine, said plans to include pregnant women and their children in his studiesand to collect data on pregnant women through a registry.

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