O pregnancy can influence the immune system’s response to infections due to Covid-19 and for the mRNA vaccines approved. This is revealed by a new study published in the journal Science, Translational Medicine. Research has shown that pregnant women are more dependent on a second dose of the vaccine to achieve full immunity.
The results provide new insights into how pregnancy affects immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 and could contribute to future vaccination strategies for pregnant mothers.
The second dose of the vaccine is especially important for achieving full immunity in pregnant women.
The work used the serology, which indicates the presence of antibodies in the blood, to examine the immune response to Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in 84 pregnant, 31 lactating and 16 age-matched non-pregnant women.
Although all groups have developed antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, other functions related to immune response they were delayed in pregnant and lactating women after the first dose. These only reached the expected levels after receiving the second injection of the vaccine, suggesting that this is especially important for achieving the complete immunity in pregnant women.
For maria del mar gil, PhD in Obstetrics and co-founder of the iMaterna Foundation, “it is a very opportune study that encourages pregnant women to get vaccinated, as it makes clear –with data– that a complete vaccination schedule with two doses is necessary”.
“Pregnant women have a mildly depressed immune system as there is a foreign body growing in their body. Therefore, your immune system reacts less to other threats ”, explains the obstetrician in testimonials to COVID-19 Vaccine Media Hub.
More trials are needed in pregnant women
During the pandemic, very few studies included pregnant and lactating women, a group highly vulnerable to severe COVID-19. As a result, scientists are unsure how pregnancy might affect the consequences of the disease or whether they are necessary. different vaccination programs.
On a associated article, the researcher at Duke University (United States) Cristian Ovies explains the importance of including pregnant women in studies. According to the expert, this type of study “provides for the incorporation of women at different stages of pregnancy in clinical trials, so that they are better represented in the development of vaccines”.
A study with a few hundred cases of pregnant women will not solve all the doubts, but at least it will provide some evidence
María del Mar Gil, PhD in Obstetrics
Gil thinks the same: “Being pregnant has been an exclusion criterion in vaccine trials, because pregnant women are considered vulnerable. However, they are also vulnerable to the disease and, in the end, we started to vaccinate them without data to confirm their safety”.
“I’m the first one who isn’t easy to tell a pregnant woman to get vaccinated if I don’t have data [que respalden la seguridad en su caso]. A study with a few hundred cases will not solve all the doubts, but at least it will provide some evidence”, concludes the obstetrician.
Reference:
Atyeo et al. “COVID-19 mRNA vaccines drive differential Fc-functional profiles in pregnant, lactating and non-pregnant women.” Sci. Transl. Med. 13, eabi8631 (2021).
Source: SYNC
Rights: Creative Commons.
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