ATLANTA - COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy is already recommended to prevent severe illness and death in pregnant women, but a new study shows the vaccine may also protect a mother’s newborn baby.
According to the study, published Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, completion of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccination series during pregnancy may help prevent hospitalization from the virus among infants who are less than six months old.A group of researchers at the Overcoming COVID-19 network conducted the study at 20 pediatric hospitals in 17 states between July 1, 2021 and Jan.
17, 2022. Among 176 hospitalized infants with COVID-19 aged less than six months, 84% were born to mothers who were not vaccinated during pregnancy.
A pregnant woman holds her belly on September 27, 2016 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images) Subsequently, the effectiveness of maternal vaccination of a 2-dose mRNA COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy against COVID-19 hospitalization in infants was 61%, showing completion of vaccination during pregnancy was associated with reduced risk for COVID-19-associated hospitalizations in newborn babies.