University of California Los Angeles researchers found pregnant women who receive the COVID-19 vaccine after recovering from the virus are more likely than other mothers to pass antibodies to their newborns, HealthDay reported Sept. 29.
The study, published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, collected blood samples from 148 mothers and 122 newborns at birth, and again with 45 mothers and 48 babies six months later. Blood was taken from both vaccinated and unvaccinated mothers. Regarding the discrepancy in samples, researchers said some mothers dropped out while others had twins or triplets.
At birth, 78 percent of all babies sampled had detectable antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. All babies born to vaccinated moms had antibodies, as did about 3 out of 4 whose mothers were unvaccinated.
Investigators concluded that vaccinating after COVID-19 illness may be an effective strategy to boost antibodies in the babies.