Protection against SARS-Cov-2 for infants through
pregnancy COVID-19 vaccination
Receiving a second or third dose of the COVID-19
vaccine during the final stages of pregnancy offers protection against
SARS-Cov-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19 illness) infection among infants,
suggests new research based on evidence.
It is one of the only two studies published which
infers a reduction in the infection risk for COVID-19 risk in infants, given
that their mother was vaccinated during pregnancy, during the first four
months. Dr. Deshayne Fell who is the co-author of the study published in JAMA Internal
Medicine conducted this register-based cohort study between September 1, 2021
and Feb 28, 2022 in Norway of all live-born infants.
Dr. Fell says since the young infants-age group is not
allocated an approved COVID-19 vaccine, they are higher risk relatively than
the older children who is a Scientist at the CHEO Research Institute and
Associate Professor in the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Medicine. Young
infants are also protected from imminent SARS-Cov-2 infection if their mothers
receive complete vaccination again COVID-19 during their pregnancy, he adds.
Studying 21,643 newborns out of which 45% (9739) had
mothers who received a third dose or at least a second dose of COVID-19 mRNA
vaccine during the final two trimesters of pregnancy. A lower incidence of
confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection was noticed among infants of the mothers who
were vaccinated during their pregnancy in relation to the babies of mothers who
were unvaccinated. The period dominated by the Delta variant (before January 1,
2022) had greater vaccine effectiveness against infant infection during
pregnancy in comparison to the Omicron period (beginning from January 1, 2022)
Dr. Fell says that after observing protection against
pertussis and influenza among infants after vaccination during pregnancy it is
not surprising that reduced infant infection was witnessed among infants during
COVID-19 pregnancy vaccination. It is also notable that Dr. Fell’s recent study
was how getting a COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy doesn’t impart additional
complications during childbirth, that was published in JAMA.
In order to reduce the risk of severity of the
COVID-19, pregnant women are advised to receive COVID-19 vaccination. For the
first few months after birth, the newborns are protected through the
vaccination during pregnancy suggests the study.