Preterm infants protected by maternal COVID-19 vaccination, NIH-funded study suggests

Preterm infants born to people who have been vaccinated for COVID-19 had roughly the same levels of antibodies to the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 as term infants born to vaccinated people, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Moreover, in all infants, antibodies to the spike protein were higher among those born to individuals who had received three or more vaccine doses before delivery, compared to those who had only two prior vaccine doses. The findings may help allay concerns that fewer antibodies might pass to preterm infants than term infants. The study was conducted by Alisa Kachikis, M.D., M.S., of the University of Washington, and colleagues. It appears in JAMA Network Open. NIH funding was provided by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Office of Research on Women’s Health, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the...