In an empowering news amid rising COVID cases, the first known case of baby born with COVID-19 antibodies after vaccination was documented by the scientists. The lucky mother is a south Florida frontline healthcare worker who was given the Moderna vaccine. She received the first dose when she was 36 weeks pregnant. Before she could get the second dose, she gave birth to a healthy girl with SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies. She received the second dose of her vaccine after the baby was born.

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According to a study (yet to be peer-viewed) posted on medRxiv’s server, pregnant mother had received the Moderna mRNA vaccine 36 weeks and 3 days into her gestation period. Just three weeks later, she gave birth to a baby girl whose sample when taken immediately after birth, revealed the antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The co-authors of the study Paul Gilbert, Chad Rudnick are from Florida Atlantic University. In their study the co-authors reported. “Here, we report the first known case of an infant with SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies detectable in cord blood after maternal vaccination.”

Earlier studies made in this direction revealed that the passage of antibodies from COVID-recovered mothers to their fetuses via the placenta was unexpectedly lower. However, the current research suggests, “Potential for protection and infection risk reduction from SARS-CoV-2 with maternal vaccination. Protective efficacy in newborns and ideal timing of maternal vaccination remains unknown.”

The researchers also added in their research an urge to researchers to continue carry investigations in the direction. “We urge other investigators to create pregnancy and breastfeeding registries as well as conduct efficacy and safety studies of the Covid-19 vaccines in pregnant and breastfeeding woman and their offspring,” the researchers wrote.

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The idea of COVID-19 antibodies passing the placenta and getting through to the fetus is not completely unheard of. Developing fetuses receive immunity benefits from their parents during the last three months of the mother’s pregnancy. But while antibodies can be passed from parent during gestation, the level of that immunity continues to vary. In a 2016 research it was found that pregnant women are more likely to pass down measles immunity than polio, that’s why vaccines for flu shut, diphtheria and tetanus are recommended for pregnant women.

Moreover, immunity passed down to a newborn child is also temporary. The immunity diminishes a little after the first few weeks or months (exact duration varies depending on the antibody itself). It should be noted this is the first time a case has come out where immunity from the novel coronavirus was transferred to the baby through vaccine alone. Additionally, the researchers are still unaware for how long these antibodies will be in the infant and the level of protection they may offer.

Last week Pfizer and BioNTech announced that they will be conducting a research to further study the safety, immunogenicity and tolerability of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in preventing COVID-19 in pregnant woman that are 18 years of age and more.

“We are proud to start this study in pregnant women and continue to gather the evidence on safety and efficacy to potentially support the use of the vaccine by important subpopulations. Pregnant women have an increased risk of complications and developing severe COVID-19, which is why it is critical that we develop a vaccine that is safe and effective for this population. We are deeply thankful to the volunteers who are enrolling in the trial, and site investigators who are leading this work,” Pfizer said in the statement it issued.

The study’s aim is to evaluate the safety, tolerability of two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or placebo that will be administered to pregnant women 21 days apart. Each woman will be participating in the study for 7-10 months (exact duration varies depending on whether they received vaccine or placebo in a randomized manner). The research will study the safety in the infants of these pregnant women and the transfer of potential antibody to the infant. These infants will also be monitored till they are approximately 6 months of age.

Meanwhile Moderna’s vaccine has not begun trials that could focus on pregnancy and infants with potentially protective antibodies. Johnson & Johnson who has received emergency use authorization by the USA said that it plans to include pregnant women in its studies and will be collecting data on pregnant women through a registry.

 

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