Pediatricians have reported the first known case of a woman, who was given the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine during her pregnancy, giving birth to a baby with antibodies against the novel coronavirus.
The woman had taken the 1st dosage of the Moderna mRNA vaccine at 36 weeks and 3 days of her pregnancy. After 3 weeks, she gave birth to a healthy and full-term baby girl, and the baby’s blood sample taken shortly after birth showed the presence of COVID-19 antibodies.
"Here, we report the first known case of an infant with SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies detectable in cord blood after maternal vaccination," noted the co-authors, Paul Gilbert and Chad Rudnick from Florida Atlantic University in the U.S.
"Protective efficacy in newborns and ideal timing of maternal vaccination remains unknown," the pediatricians wrote in the study.
"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," they added.
The mother, who has been breastfeeding the child, was administered the 2nd dosage of the vaccine according to the regular 28-day vaccination protocol timeline.