By Dave Doolittle
Originally published by our sister publication, Pharmacy Practice News
Infants born to mothers who complete a two-dose messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccine series are less likely to be hospitalized because of the illness, results from a recent study suggest.
According to the study, which looked at hospitalization data from 379 infants less than six months of age, newborns from vaccinated mothers were 61% less likely to be hospitalized due to COVID-19 than those from unvaccinated mothers (95% CI, 31%-78%).
In fact, 84% of infants hospitalized with COVID-19 were born from unvaccinated mothers, as were 88% of those who were transferred to an ICU or who needed life support.
In addition, vaccines received after 21 weeks’ gestation were 80% effective, compared with a 32% efficacy rate when received earlier in pregnancy (32%), according to the study (MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022 Feb 15).
“I cannot emphasize enough how today’s findings reinforce the importance of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy, both to protect people who are pregnant and to help protect their babies,” Dana Meaney-Delman, MD, the chief of the CDC’s Infant Outcomes Monitoring Research and Prevention Branch, said during a press conference announcing the results.
“CDC recommends that people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now or might become pregnant in the future get vaccinated and stay up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines through recommended booster doses.”
The study considered data from 20 pediatric hospitals in 17 states between July 1, 2021, and Jan. 17, 2022. Of the 379 hospitalized infants, 176 had tested positive for COVID-19, while 203 had COVID-19 symptoms but negative SARS-CoV-2 real-time polymerase chain reaction or antigen test results.
Mothers who had been fully vaccinated prior to pregnancy were not part of the study, researchers said, and data on the effects of breastfeeding were not considered.
Although recent studies suggest the possibility of transplacental transfer of SARS-CoV-2–specific antibodies—including high levels of detectable antibodies in umbilical cord blood—“no epidemiologic evidence currently exists for the protective benefits of maternal immunization during pregnancy against COVID-19 in infants,” researchers said. “Overall, these findings indicate that maternal vaccination during pregnancy might help protect against COVID-19 hospitalization among infants.”
The CDC recommends everyone aged 5 years and older get vaccinated for COVID-19, and that people who are between 12 years of age and older receive a COVID-19 booster shot. “Unfortunately, vaccination of infants younger than 6 months old is not currently on the horizon, highlighting why vaccination during pregnancy is so important for these infants,” Dr. Meaney-Delman said.
