Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination on Pregnant Women

• Authors: Ishaan Chaubey, Vanderbilt University; Harini Vijay, University of Washington; Sakthivel Govindaraj, Emory University; Hemalatha Babu, Emory University; Narayanaiah Cheedarla, Emory University; Esaki M Shankar, Central University of Tamil Nadu; Ramachandran Vignesh, University of Kuala Lumpur; Vijayakumar Velu, Emory University
• Journal Title: PATHOGENS
• Volume: Volume 12, Number 3
• Publisher: MDPI | 2023-03-01
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12030431
• Subjects: Biology, Microbiology; Health Sciences, Immunology
• Keywords: Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Microbiology; COVID-19 vaccination in pregnant women; cord blood; maternal and cord immune response; UNITED-STATES; VACCINES; SAFETY

Abstract

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers across the world hastened to develop vaccines that would aid in bolstering herd immunity. Utilizing mRNA coding and viral vector technology, the currently approved vaccines were required to undergo extensive testing to confirm their safety for mass usage in the general population. However, clinical trials failed to test the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines in groups with weakened immune systems, especially pregnant women. Lack of information on the effects of vaccinations in pregnancy and the safety of fetuses are among the topmost reasons preventing pregnant women from receiving immunization. Thus, the lack of data examining the effects of COVID-19 vaccinations on pregnant women must be addressed. This review focused on the safety and efficacy of the approved COVID-19 vaccinations in pregnancy and their impact on both maternal and fetal immune responses. For that, we took the approach of combined systematic review/meta-analysis and compiled the available data from the original literature from PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE and Medline databases. All articles analyzed presented no adverse effects of vaccination in pregnancy, with varying conclusions on the degree of effectiveness. The majority of the findings described robust immune responses in vaccinated pregnant women, successful transplacental antibody transfer, and implications for neonatal immunity. Hence, findings from the cumulative data available can be helpful in achieving COVID-19 herd immunization, including pregnant women.