(CNN) – Vaccines Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna against COVID-19 are effective in pregnant and lactating women, who can transmit protective antibodies to their newborns, according to research published in the journal American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the Ragon Institute at MGH, MIT, and Harvard looked at 131 women who received the Pfizer / BioNTech or Moderna vaccine against COVID-19. Among the participants, 84 were pregnant, 31 were lactating and 16 were not pregnant. The samples were collected between December 17, 2020 and March 2, 2021.
Vaccine-induced antibody levels were equivalent in pregnant and lactating women compared to non-pregnant women. Antibody levels were “surprisingly taller ” than those resulting from coronavirus infection during pregnancy, the team noted.
Read also: How to detect PIMS: 3 red flags to pay attention to children
“These vaccines seem to work in a incredibly effective in these women “said one of the researchers, Galit Alter, a professor of medicine at the Ragon Institute.
In addition, the team found that women transmitted protective antibodies to their newborns, measured in breast milk and placenta.
“Almost all moms were getting a pretty decent level of antibodies for their babies,” Alter said, adding that additional research is needed to understand how long those protective antibodies last in newborns.
Read also: WHO says inequalities in access to vaccines “are more grotesque every day”
Participants used the US 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 urged that they found no evidence of more side effects or more severe side effects in pregnant and lactating 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 that this particular kind of antibody can be transferred more efficiently to babies, for a longer period of time.
“There are reasons to think that having higher levels of dand IgA immunity could be more protective “Alter noted. Meanwhile, he noted that further research on this finding could help inform policy decisions about which vaccines should be used for pregnant populations.
Read also: Variation in testosterone receptor may predispose men to more severe COVID-19
Recent research similarly found that MRNA they generate 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.
No data to help inform the decisions of the pregnant women on vaccination against COVID-19Alter said researchers and new and pregnant mothers, particularly healthcare workers, came together to fill the gap.
MGH and Brigham began talking to health workers who were eligible for vaccination, who were also pregnant, and created a study to train pregnant women to have the ability to track their responses, but also to develop data that could essentially help address vaccination and pregnancy.
“It really was just one force to be reckoned with, both from the perspective of the obstetrician / gynecologist / healthcare provideras well as the community, ”Alter said.
According to the CDC, people pregnant women with COVID-19 are at increased risk of serious illness and they may be at increased risk for adverse outcomes, such as preterm delivery. The CDC says they hope to study vaccine safety in about 13,000 pregnant women for each of the three licensed coronavirus vaccines. The agency will use a specific V-safe pregnancy registry, in which, as of March 22, there are about 3,612 registered pregnant women.
“This is an urgent need, because we are not only protecting one person in this vaccination effort, we are protecting two people at the same time,” Alter said.
– .
