Doctors have reported the first case of the birth of a human child with already-developed COVID-19 antibodies.
Vaccinations worldwide are prioritized in groups; first, the older adults get the vaccines, frontline health workers are also prioritized at the top in this regard. The same goes for maternal vaccinations; pregnant women are being vaccinated on priority, given the sensitive pregnancy period.
A Florida woman who got a single dose of Moderna vaccine (during maternal vaccinations) has given birth to a baby born with anti-bodies for the Covid-19 virus.
The new study found that immunity against the Covid-19 virus transfers to the next-generation through pregnancy, for the Moderna Vaccine. It sure is a positive sign and an indication that the vaccine is doing a good job building defenses against the virus.
The woman who gave the birth is a frontline health worker and was vaccinated with Moderna Vaccine in January; she was 36 weeks pregnant. She gave birth to a healthy girl 3 weeks later, and researchers detected anti-bodies when she tested her blood via the baby’s umbilical cord at the time of the delivery. Hence, experts say that there are possible chances for protection and infection risk reduction from the Covid-19 virus with maternal vaccinations.
“To our knowledge, this was the first in the world that was reported of a baby being born with antibodies after a vaccination,” says Paul Gilbert, one of the doctors involved in the birth, to a local ABC affiliate news service. “We tested the baby’s cord to see if the antibodies in the mother passed to the baby, which is something we see happen with other vaccines given during pregnancy.”
However, the paper emphasized that more research is needed to confirm babies’ potential protection from COVID-19 illness via antibodies. “We urge other investigators to create pregnancy and breastfeeding registries as well as to conduct efficacy and safety studies of the COVID-19 vaccines in the pregnant and breastfeeding woman and their offspring.”
However, the doctors involved in the delivery stressed that it is the initial stage of the new findings, and it is only the first case. Thousands of babies are born soon, given the high rate of maternal vaccinations in recent times. The crucial part is to learn how long this immunity would last in babies.
