First baby in US born with antibodies to COVID-19 after mom receives dose of Moderna vaccine during pregnancy

At 36 weeks pregnant, southern Florida frontline health worker received her first injection of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. She gave birth three weeks later to a healthy baby girl – with COVID-19 antibodies.

Doctors believe the newborn marks the first known case of a baby born with antibodies to the coronavirus in the United States, which may offer some protection against the virus.

Dr Paul Giblert and Dr Chad Rudnick presented their findings in a pre-printed study, which means it has yet to be peer reviewed. They found that the antibodies were detected at the time of delivery, after analyzing the baby’s umbilical cord blood collected immediately after birth and before the placenta was delivered.

“We have shown that anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies are detectable in a sample of newborn cord blood after a single dose of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine,” they concluded. “Thus, there is potential for protecting and reducing the risk of Sars-CoV-2 infection with maternal vaccination.”

Doctors point out, however, that more research is needed to check safety and efficacy of the coronavirus vaccines during pregnancy.

It was already known that mothers previously infected with COVID-19 can pass antibodies to their newborns. In addition, the passage of antibodies from mother to baby through the placenta is well documented in other vaccines, including the influenza one, so doctors hoped that the same protection of the newborn would be possible after maternal vaccination. against COVID-19.

“This is really starting to align the COVID vaccine with the vaccines we already use in pregnant women like the flu vaccine,” said Dr. Neeta Ogden, internal medicine specialist and immunologist. told CBSN Wednesday. “We really need, and it is clear we need, meaningful data on the safety of pregnant women.”

Doctors say a Florida mother who received a dose of Moderna vaccine during her pregnancy transmitted antibodies to her newborn baby.

Her child is believed to be the first known baby to be born with COVID-19 antibodies. pic.twitter.com/tZQFNx0S7i

– CBS News (@CBSNews) March 17, 2021

These early results may help give pregnant women more reason to consider getting vaccinated.

“This is also encouraging as it provides a level of protection for one of the most vulnerable populations, the newborn,” Ogden said, stressing the need for further education in pregnant women during this pandemic.

Since we do not have approved COVID vaccines for kids Still, she says, “if we can see this type of safe maternal transmission of vaccine antibodies to newborns, I think it’s really a big step in the right direction.”

Other recent studies, also shared in pre-print and not yet peer-reviewed, support the findings.

Massachusetts General Hospital recently studied 131 women – 84 pregnant, 31 breastfeeding, and 16 non-pregnant – all of whom received Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. They found equally strong immune responses in pregnant and breastfeeding women as the control group. In addition, antibodies were present in the placenta and breast milk of each sample taken.

“Maternal antibodies generated by the vaccine were detected in the umbilical cord blood of 10 babies who gave birth during our study period,” co-author Dr Andrea Edlow, an expert in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. “Our data suggest that receiving two injections of the mRNA vaccine leads to improved antibody transfer to newborns.”

Another study in Israel found antibodies in the 20 women tested who received the two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, both in their third trimester and in their newborns, also by placental transfer.

Last month, Pfizer announced that it had started the first large-scale trial of its vaccine in pregnant women, which it plans to complete by early 2023. Its vaccine has been approved for emergency use in states. -United in December, and millions of people, including thousands of pregnant women, have already taken it.

Moderna, whose vaccine also received emergency use authorization in the United States in December, has not started trials focusing on pregnancy, but has created a registry to track pregnant women who receive its vaccine. . Johnson & Johnson, which received emergency use authorization for its vaccine last month, said it plans to include pregnant women and their infants in its studies as well as collect data on pregnant women via a register.

Pregnant women were excluded from the original trials of Moderna and Pfizer’s COVID-19 injections, a common practice in such studies.