World News, March 17: A woman from South Florida, US, has given birth to a baby with antibodies after she received the first dose of the Covid vaccine while pregnant.
Two paediatricians presented this case in a pre-print article and claimed that this proves there is a potential of reducing Covid infection with ‘maternal vaccination’.
The authors, Dr Paul Gilbert and Dr Chad Rudnik said the mother was a frontline healthcare worker who had received the Moderna vaccine in January 2021. She had been 36 weeks pregnant at the time.
“A vigorous, healthy, full-term female was born to a Covid-19 naïve mother who had received a single dose of mRNA vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 three weeks prior to delivery,” the study found.
Furthermore, antibodies to the S-protein of SARS-CoV-2 was detected in the cord blood at the time of delivery. Cord blood is the blood found in the placenta and in the umbilical cord after the delivery of a baby.
The study authors noted that the finding emphasized the “significant and urgent need” for research on the safety and efficacy of vaccinations against Covid-19 during pregnancy.
It stated that since it is not yet known how long antibodies last in newborn babies, a measure of this duration can help determine the best time to begin vaccinations for those born to vaccinated mothers.
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“To our knowledge, this was the first in the world that was reported of a baby being born with antibodies after a vaccination,” said Dr. Gilbert.
“We tested the baby’s cord to see if the antibodies in the mother passed to the baby, which is something we see happen without vaccines given during pregnancy,” he explained.
Compared to adults, fewer children have tested positive for the virus. While they can be infected with the virus, most of them have mild symptoms of Covid-19 or are asymptomatic.
According to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the country’s apex public health agency, babies under the age of 1 and with underlying conditions could be more likely to contract a severe form of the disease.
In some earlier cases, a mother who recovered from Covid while pregnant had given birth to baby born with antibodies.
