Mothers who took the Covid-19 vaccine during their pregnancy are likely to pass some form of immunity against the virus to their babies, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) study published Tuesday shows.
The CDC’s latest research has analyzed data on 379 infants – all under six months old and hospitalized for various reasons, including COVID – across 17 US states from July 1, 2021, through Jan. 17.
The study found that children whose mothers were vaccinated during pregnancy had a 61% lower risk of hospitalization. The vast majority, or 84%, of the 176 babies hospitalized with Covid-19 were born to mothers who had not been vaccinated.
In cases where mothers got their jabs later in their pregnancy (21 weeks to 14 days before delivery), the protection increased to 80% while the vaccination’s effectiveness dropped as low as 32% for babies born of mothers inoculated earlier in pregnancy.
However, given the small sample size used, the authors of the study cautioned people not to read too much into its research, especially considering the fact that the study didn’t include women inoculated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, nor did it analyze the effects of maternal booster shots on infants.
CDC’s Dana Meaney-Delman emphasizes that their main priority at the moment is to ensure both the mom and the infant are protected.
According to the CDC, pregnant women are at greater risk of developing complications due to Covid-19, including preterm births and stillbirths, on top of the risks to their own health.
This is the latest in a series of studies that have shown that women who got their COVID jab during pregnancy can transfer protective antibodies to their unborn fetus.
Another small study published in JAMA last week showed that 98% of babies whose mothers received their vaccine during pregnancy still had detectable levels of protective antibodies 2 months after birth. That percent decreased to 57% six months after birth.
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