Babies born to mothers who received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine before birth were born with protective antibodies against the virus, according to an initial Israeli study.
Researchers at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem took blood samples from the umbilical cords, which are the same blood found in infants, of 40 newborns, discovering antibodies against the novel coronavirus , SARS-CoV-2, present. All mothers surveyed with babies had received a second dose about a week before birth, according to the Times of Isreal.
“In our study, we found immunoglobulin G antibodies that are active against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which essentially inhibits the entry of the virus into cells. This follows research that appear to be [breast] milk contains another type of antibodies, Immunoglobulin A, “Dr. Dana Wolf, head of the Hadassah virology department, told the Israeli revolution.
The findings advance the argument in favor of pregnant women receiving the coronavirus vaccine, the Times of Isreal reported, a topic that has been debated among experts across the world with which pregnant women were not first introduced in coronavirus vaccine tests.
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Since then, however, such studies have begun. In the U.S., “clinical trials looking at the safety and how well the COVID-19 vaccines work in pregnant women are ongoing or planned,” according to of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More than 10,000 pregnant women have been tested since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued Emergency Use Authorization to vaccine manufacturers such as Pfizer and Moderna. In February, Drs. Anthony Fauci, America’s leading infectious disease expert, said “red flags” in trials of pregnant women who had been vaccinated have not been found “so far.”
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There are still some questions, however, about how long the babies will keep the antibodies, or what kind of protection they will provide.
Still, “this is an important and encouraging finding, suggesting that vaccinated mothers give their babies COVID-19 protection before they are born. It reinforces the importance of vaccinating pregnant women, and the benefits of doing so, “Wolf told the Israeli Times.
Preliminary results from an Israeli study, not yet peer-reviewed, were published to the medRxiv introduction site.