Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are effective in pregnant women, boosting their immune response and even transmitting protective antibodies to their babies, according to a new prepress study.
The study, published Thursday in American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, examined 131 women who received one of the two vaccines between December and March. Eighty-four were pregnant and 31 were breastfeeding.
Researchers at centers such as Harvard, MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that pregnant and lactating women had as strong an immune response to vaccines as the 16 women who were not pregnant or breastfeeding.
In addition, they found that vaccines were much better than coronavirus exposure in giving secondary antibodies to infants. When testing umbilical cord blood and placenta, they found that babies born to women who had received the vaccine had “surprisingly higher” levels of antibodies against COVID than babies born to women who had previously had COVID-19, the researchers wrote.
Research supports vaccination of pregnant women
The study adds to a growing number of studies indicating that getting a COVID-19 vaccine is a good idea for pregnant women. In March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there were no adverse results in its study of 30,000 vaccinated pregnant women across the U.S.
Pregnant women were not included in the clinical trials studying any of the COVID-19 vaccines. Thus, when U.S. regulators authorized the first COVID-19 vaccine in early December (from Pfizer and BioNTech), health officials said it was a decision for pregnant women to take with their doctor.
As research increases, decision-making is becoming easier for pregnant women and obstinate gynecologists, Dr. Andrea Edlow, an expert in maternal-fetal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, told NBC. he co-authored the study.
“This study is an essential piece of the puzzle to try to offer evidence-based advice to pregnant and lactating women around the vaccine,” Edlow said.
What we know about Pfizer and Moderna takes during pregnancy
Studies are underway in clinical trials and real-world settings, as more and more pregnant women choose to get vaccinated.
Pending these data, the CDC has noted that studies in pregnant animals found no safety concerns related to the prescription of mRNA vaccines, such as Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.
There has been a lot of misinformation about mRNA vaccines, which use messenger RNA to train the body to recognize the virus and get an immune response.
Vaccine activists like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. they have promoted the myth that the vaccine interferes with DNA, a physiological impossibility, as vaccines do not enter your genetic material.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued counseling to pregnant and lactating people who reject this myth. “These vaccines do not enter the nucleus and do not alter human DNA from vaccine receptors. As a result, mRNA vaccines cannot cause genetic changes,” he said.
According to the operation of Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, “there should be very little risk to a developing baby,” Dr. Jessica Madden, a pediatrician and neonatologist who acts as medical director, previously told Insider. ‘Aeroflow Breastpumps.
What do we know about the J&J vaccine for pregnant women
Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, which was released a month after the Moderna and Pfizer shots, uses a different technology that has been thoroughly tested in pregnant women.
An extensive study of pregnant women who received a similar Ebola vaccine found no safety issues.
Vaccines also seem to protect babies
A small study reviewed by experts in January found that pregnant women vaccinated against COVID-19 transmitted antibodies to their babies.
In February, investigators said a baby born to a woman who had only received one of Moderna’s two shots had tested positive for protective antibodies.
This article was originally published by Business Insider.
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