Vaccination of pregnant women against Covid-19 could have even more benefits than previously known. Initial data indicate that newborns also benefit from their mothers’ vaccination.
In a so-called case-control study, US scientists led by the CDC health authority examined babies aged up to six months who had to be hospitalized for confirmed Covid disease. 176 affected infants from 20 children’s hospitals were included in the study. There was also a similarly composed control group of children of the same age who were not suffering from Covid but were being cared for in a clinic because of other diseases.
For their study, the researchers compared the vaccination status of all mothers. It was found that the mothers of the small Covid patients were vaccinated against Sars-CoV-2 much less frequently than the women in the control group. The comparison of the groups suggests that babies whose mothers were vaccinated twice with an mRNA vaccine during pregnancy are 61 percent better protected against severe Covid disease than the infants of unvaccinated mothers.
In Germany, Stiko has been advising all pregnant women to vaccinate against Covid-19 since September
This number, however, comes with a margin of uncertainty, the authors of the im journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published work they estimate between 31 and 78 percent. It is also not certain whether the effect is caused solely by the vaccination or in part by other factors. It is also uncertain whether the findings apply to different virus variants; the data was collected in the second half of 2021, when the delta variant was dominant in the US. It is also unclear to what extent a series of vaccinations carried out before the pregnancy protects the child.
Nevertheless, from the authors’ point of view, the study provides epidemiological evidence for the first time that the vaccination can also protect newborns. There is some evidence that the children receive maternal antibodies through the blood or breast milk and thus benefit from the vaccination. Such temporary nest protection is already known from other infectious diseases such as measles and tetanus. Initial studies have already shown that antibodies against Sars-CoV-2 are also found in the blood of the umbilical cord, newborns and breast milk.
In Germany, the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) has been advising all pregnant women to vaccinate against Covid-19 since September. The immunization should take place after the 13th week of pregnancy in order to protect expectant mothers and their children from the consequences of Covid disease.
Serious complications are rare overall, writes the Stiko. However, she points out that pregnant women have an increased risk of being transferred to the intensive care unit and having to be ventilated in the event of a corona infection. The CDC warns that a Sars-CoV-2 infection also increases the risk of premature birth and stillbirth.
The nest protection of newborns has not yet been listed as an explicit goal in the German recommendations, as the knowledge on this has not yet been sufficient. However, if the information that has now been published is confirmed in further studies, the protection of infants could be a further argument for vaccinating pregnant women or women who wish to have children.