Covid: babies with antibodies from vaccinated pregnant and breastfeeding mothers

Milan, 25 March (beraking latest news Salute) – A team of scientists had already described the case of a baby girl born with antibodies to Sars-CoV-2 in the umbilical cord from a vaccinated mother. But now comes a study – the largest so far conducted on this front – which shows by the force of numbers how pregnant and lactating women develop a robust immune response with anti-Covid vaccines and are able to “transmit antibodies to babies “. For babies, explain the authors of the work published in the “American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology ‘,” protective immunity “is conferred” through breast milk and the placenta. “A treasure trove of health in times of pandemic.

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (Mgh), Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Ragon Institute in Mgh, Mit and Harvard conducted the research involving 131 women of reproductive age (84 pregnant, 31 lactating and 16 not pregnant) all vaccinated. with one of two mRna vaccines – Pfizer / BioNTech or Moderna – and found that these shield products are “highly effective” in producing antibodies to Sars-CoV-2 in pregnant and lactating women. Induced titers (antibody levels) were equivalent in all three groups. And post-vaccination side effects were “rare and comparable among study participants.”

The findings “are very encouraging for pregnant and lactating women who are excluded from initial Covid vaccine studies,” said Andrea Edlow, Mgh maternal-fetal medicine specialist and senior co-author of the study. “Bridging the gaps with real data is essential – he adds – especially for our pregnant patients who are at greater risk of complications from Covid”. The team also compared vaccination-induced antibody levels with those induced by natural infection in pregnancy and found significantly higher levels of antibodies from vaccination.

These antibodies generated by the shield injections were also present in all the umbilical cord blood samples and in the breast milk samples taken from the study, which – experts explain – demonstrates the transfer of antibodies from mothers to newborns.

Now, points out Galit Alter of the Ragon Institute, senior co-author of the work, “we have clear evidence that Covid vaccines can induce immunity that will protect children. We hope this study will catalyze the attention of developers. of vaccines to recognize the importance of studying pregnant and lactating people and include them in studies. We look forward to studying all vaccine platforms in pregnancy as they become available. “

Meanwhile, this first study was also able to provide information on the potential differences between the immune response induced by the two vaccines under consideration, Pfizer and Moderna. Experts found higher mucosal antibody (IgA) levels after the second dose of Moderna compared to the second dose of Pfizer. “This finding is important for everyone, but it has special significance for pregnant and lactating women because IgA is a key antibody found in breast milk,” said Kathryn Gray, a midwife at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and first author of the research.