Getting a COVID-19 vaccine during but not before pregnancy can help protect the baby from Omicron

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-11-11 03:00

International

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Babies born to mothers who received a COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy are less likely to be infected with Omicron COVID-19 variants, according to international researchers who say this reduced risk only occurs if the vaccination happened during pregnancy, not before. The researchers looked at Singapore's national health data to identify babies who had at least one parent infected with COVID-19 during their first six months of life, and compared which babies got COVID-19 with, when and if their mother had been vaccinated. Using this data, the researchers estimate getting vaccinated while pregnant is 42% effective at reducing Omicron infection in newborns, including subvariants of Omicron up to XBB.

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conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Singapore General Hospital, Singapore

Funder: Dr Yung reported funding to attend conferences and honorarium from Sanofi, Pfizer, and Takeda, outside of the submitted work. No other disclosures were reported.

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