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Gulf Today Report

Pregnant women who get an mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 pass high levels of protective antibodies to their babies, new research shows.

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The findings, reported on Wednesday in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Maternal Fetal Medicine, indicate that "the antibodies that the mother is building to the vaccine are crossing the placenta and that's likely to confer benefits for the infant after it's born," said coauthor Dr Ashley Roman of NYU Langone Health in New York City.

It is not clear whether the timing of vaccination during pregnancy is related to antibody levels in the baby or how long the antibodies last, according to Reuters.

"We don't know how long those antibodies stick around in the baby," Roman said. "But the presence of these antibodies in the cord blood, which is the fetus' blood, indicates that the baby also has potential to derive benefit from maternal vaccination."