A Florida mother became the first woman in the United States to give birth to a child known to be born with COVID-19 antibodies.
The unnamed woman from Palm Beach County received a dose of Moderna coronavirus vaccine a few weeks before giving birth.
In January, the baby was found to have antibodies to the infection that can usually stay in the body for several years.
“As far as we know, he was the first in the world to report a child born with antibodies after vaccination,” pediatrician Paul Gilbert told WPBF.
A Florida mother who received a dose of Moderna coronavirus vaccine has given birth to the first child in the United States known to have been born with COVID-19 antibodies (file image)
Doctors found that the baby had IgG antibodies, proteins that the body produces in the late stages of infection and that can remain in the body for months or years. Pictured: syringes and a vial of Modern COVID-19 vaccine are seen at a drive-thru vaccination site in Wildwood, Florida, March 2021
Previous studies have shown that pregnant women who are vaccinated against the flu and TDaP (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis) transmit antibodies through the placenta to their babies.
Although it would be expected to be valid for the COVID-19 vaccine, research has been limited on this topic.
A small recent study in Israel found that antibodies from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were detected in all 20 women who received both doses during the third trimester, as well as in newborns.
When coronavirus vaccines were first launched, the World Health Organization warned that they should not be used in pregnant women due to a lack of evidence on safety and efficacy.
The organization later withdrew its advice and said the vaccines could be safely administered to pregnant women.
At a press briefing last month, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease expert, said there were no “red flags” after at least 20,000 American pregnant women were vaccinated against COVID-19 .
In the new pre-print article, the authors say that the mother, who is a front-line medical worker, was 36 weeks pregnant when she received her first dose of Moderna vaccine.
Three weeks later, at the end of January, the woman gave birth to a healthy baby girl, and doctors took blood samples to see if the mother had transmitted antibodies to her newborn.
“We tested the baby’s cord to see if the mother’s antibodies passed to the baby, which is something we see happening with other vaccines given during pregnancy,” Gilbert said.
Tests have shown that the baby has IgG antibodies, proteins that the body produces in the late stages of the infection and that can remain for months and possibly years after a person’s recovery.
The authors say that their study was sent to a peer-reviewed journal and is currently awaiting publication.
“This is a small case where there will be thousands and thousands of children born to mothers who have been vaccinated in the next few months,” the woman’s other pediatrician, Dr. Chad Rudnick, told WPBF.
On average, more than two million people are vaccinated against COVID-19 every day
As of Wednesday morning, 21.7% of the US population has received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine and 11.8% are fully vaccinated
The woman received the second dose after giving birth within the recommended 28-day period for the Moderna vaccine.
Pediatricians say more studies are needed to determine how long neutralizing antibodies remain in a child’s body.
The pre-printed article also indicates that the level of antibodies in the child was quite low, which means that newborns may be at risk of infection with the virus.
“Further studies need to determine how long this protection will last,” Rudnick told WPBF.
“They need to determine what level of protection or how many antibodies a baby needs to circulate to give them protection.”
In the paper, physicians call for the creation of national pregnancy and lactation registries so that the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 can be studied in pregnant women and their children.
As of Wednesday morning, 21.7 percent of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine and 11.8 percent are fully vaccinated.
On average, more than two million people are hit every day.
