Getting the coronavirus vaccine during pregnancy can protect newborns from hospitalization

According to the study, nearly 90% of babies who had to be hospitalized with COVID-19 had mothers who were not vaccinated during pregnancy. new data From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Infants too young to be vaccinated had the highest coronavirus hospitalization rate of any age group except those over 75.

Infants cannot be vaccinated against the coronavirus until they are at least 6 months old. That leaves a “large window” during the period when infants are most vulnerable, he said. Dr. Neil Silvermandirector of infections during pregnancy program at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine.

The only way to effectively protect your baby during these six months is to vaccinate the pregnant woman so that her antibodies can be passed on to the newborn. Vaccination during pregnancy protects pregnant people from serious illness.

This study emphasizes that vaccination of pregnant people is very important. It's also consistent with what doctors have been reporting anecdotally for more than three years. In other words, people are still skeptical about coronavirus vaccines because of persistent misinformation.

The study utilized health data from 12 states collected from October 2022 to April 2024. The findings are published in government publications. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

The report found that among the 1,470 infants who became ill enough to be hospitalized due to COVID-19, severe outcomes occurred “frequently.”

Excluding newborns hospitalized at birth, about one in five infants hospitalized with coronavirus required intensive care, and nearly one in 20 required a ventilator.

“These babies are not necessarily babies with high-risk disease,” says UCLA's Silverman. “These are full-term, healthy newborns who happened to be infected with the coronavirus and ended up on ventilators in the hospital.”

Despite the risks, many pregnant patients remain hesitant

But persistent misinformation about the vaccine online has led to widespread skepticism among pregnant patients.

“The most frustrating response I've gotten from people is that we need to do more research before considering getting the COVID-19 vaccine,” Silverman said. “We have numerous studies showing the safety of mRNA vaccines. We don't know how much more research we can provide to skeptics.”

Of the 1,000 infants hospitalized with coronavirus, the median age was just two months old, according to the report. Nine of the infants died.

pediatrician in south carolina Deborah Greenhouse She said she plans to share this research with the families she cares for. “There's absolutely a percentage of the population that looks at this and says, oh, I should get the vaccine, so maybe I can protect my baby,” she said.

“I think if we could actually show the hospitalization numbers, the intensive care numbers, the ventilator numbers, that might help convince some parents. These are big issues,” Greenhouse said. said.

Doctors should stock vaccinations and discuss them

Greenhouse often waits until parents in her office confirm they are pregnant before discussing the latest COVID-19 vaccines. Now she's reconsidering that strategy and might try talking about getting vaccinated. all When parents take their children to appointments.

“We have an opportunity to step in and educate them and make them understand how important this is,” she said.

Silverman said doctors can encourage vaccination by making it as easy and simple as possible. He encouraged his fellow doctors to offer shots in their offices instead of sending patients to pharmacies or other health care providers.

“If someone has to leave the office to get vaccinated, they're probably going to lose 30 to 40 percent of their opportunity to get vaccinated,” Silverman said.

But offering coronavirus vaccinations at clinics could force some doctors to administer the shots. difficult calculation.

If doctors overestimate the number of patients interested in a vaccine, they may not be able to fully refund excess doses and may incur a loss. Meanwhile, we want to have enough doses on hand to vaccinate all vulnerable patients who want to be vaccinated.

This article was produced as part of the NPR Health Reporting Partnership. KFF Health News.