A South Florida health care worker was 36 weeks pregnant when she was given the first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Three weeks later she gave birth to the first baby born with COVID-19 antibodies.
When the baby was born in late January, a blood sample showed the infant had a defense against the virus. Doctors Paul Gilbert and Chad Rudnick from V-I-Pediatrics believe this is the first of a child born with antibodies after vaccination, and it can be significant in the fight to protect children from COVID-19.
“This is one small case in what will be thousands and thousands of babies born to mothers who have been vaccinated in the next several months,” said Rudnick.
The article that the doctors are publishing on their findings on the website Med RXIV reveals that there are some indicators that infants born to vaccinated mothers could still be at risk of infection.
“Further studies have to determine how long will this protection last,” said Rudnick. “They have to determine at what level of protection or how many antibodies does a baby need to have circulating in order to give them protection.”
The doctors say their paper has been accepted for publishing and that they are just waiting for the journal to put it on the site.