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ATLANTA (CNN) – The Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are effective in pregnant and breastfeeding women, who can transmit protective antibodies to newborns, according to a study published Thursday in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard examined 131 women who received the Pfizer / BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Of the participants, 84 were pregnant, 31 breastfeeding and 16 were not pregnant. Samples were taken between December 17, 2020 and March 2, 2021.
Vaccine-induced antibody levels were equivalent in pregnant and lactating women compared to non-pregnant women. The antibody levels were “remarkably higher” than those resulting from coronavirus infection during pregnancy, the team noted.
“These vaccines appear to work incredibly effectively in these women,” said one of the researchers, Galit Alter, professor of medicine at the Ragon Institute.
Additionally, the team found that women pass protective antibodies to their newborns, measured in breast milk and placenta.
“Almost all moms were getting a pretty decent level of antibodies against their babies,” said Alter, who added that more research is needed to understand how long these protective antibodies last in newborns.
Participants used the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s V-safe tool, which allows people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine to track their reaction. Alter said they found no evidence of stronger side effects or more intense side effects in pregnant and breastfeeding women than in the general population.
While the team found similar antibody levels in women vaccinated with both vaccines, Alter said they found higher levels of IgA antibodies in pregnant women who received the Moderna vaccine. She said this particular type of antibody can be transferred to babies more effectively, for a longer period of time.
“There is reason to believe that having higher IgA immunity levels might be more protective,” noted Alter. She said further research on this finding could help inform policy decisions about which vaccines are used for pregnant populations.
Recent research has also found that mRNA vaccines cause antibodies in pregnant women that can be transferred to their babies, although this is the largest vaccine study in pregnant women to date. Pregnant and lactating women were not included in the initial clinical trials of the vaccines.
This is urgently needed, because we are not just protecting one person in this vaccination effort, we are protecting two people at the same time.
–Galit Alter, professor of medicine at the Ragon Institute
With no data to review to help pregnant women get vaccinated against COVID-19, Alter said researchers and new and expecting mothers – especially healthcare workers – have stepped up to fill the gap. empty.
“MGH and Brigham started talking to health workers eligible for vaccination, who were also pregnant, and they created a study to give pregnant women the opportunity to track their responses, but also to develop data that could essentially help. The whole world is approaching vaccination and pregnancy for the first time in this collective way.
“It was really just a force to be reckoned with, both from an OB-GYN / vendor perspective, but also from the community,” said Alter. “It was inspiring.”
Pregnant people with COVID-19 are at increased risk of serious illness and may be at increased risk of unwanted outcomes, such as premature birth, according to the CDC. The CDC says it hopes to study vaccine safety in around 13,000 pregnant people for each of the three licensed coronavirus vaccines. The agency will use a specific V-safe pregnancy registry, which had approximately 3,612 pregnant women, as of March 22.
“This is an urgent need because we are not just protecting one person in this vaccination effort, we are protecting two people at the same time,” Alter said.
The-CNN-Wire ™ and © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
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