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Florida woman who received Covid vaccine while pregnant gave birth to baby with antibodies, say doctors

Watch: Boca Raton partially-vaccinated woman gave birth to baby with COVID antibodies

A woman who received a dose of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine while pregnant then gave birth to a baby with Covid-19 antibodies, doctors have said.

Two paediatricians based in Boca Raton, Florida, said the case is believed to be the first reported in the world of a baby born with antibodies for Covid-19.

They published their findings in pre-print case report which has yet to be peer-reviewed.

Dr Paul Gilbert and Dr Chad Rudnick said the woman, who is a frontline health worker, received a single dose of the Moderna vaccine three weeks before giving birth to her baby.

“Coming into January, we had the opportunity with a healthcare worker for her to get her vaccine at the end of her pregnancy and then when the baby was born, we were able to test that baby’s cord blood to look for antibodies that were made from the vaccine to see if those antibodies passed from the mum to the baby and potentially give the baby protection,” Dr Gilbert told WPTV.

A pregnant woman holds her stomach (PA Archive)
A pregnant woman holds her stomach (PA Archive)

Dr Rudnick added: “We were fortunate this was essentially an opportunity study, because of the time this healthcare worker was able to receive her first vaccine, it was early on in the vaccine rollout.

“It was the first case to our knowledge that was reported in the literature around the world, of a baby born to a mother who had not had Covid previously, and then was vaccinated and then see that they had antibodies.”

The doctors explained that the woman, who has been exclusively breastfeeding her baby, received the second dose of the Moderna vaccine during the post-partum period.

They hope that their findings will lead to further studies of how maternal coronavirus vaccinations might provide some protection for babies from the virus.

“We urge other investigators to create pregnancy and breastfeeding registries as well as conduct efficacy and safety studies of the Covid-19 vaccines in pregnant and breastfeeding woman and their offspring,” said the doctors in their case report.

Watch: Do coronavirus vaccines affect fertility?

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