Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women Have a Slower Response to Vaccine,

Pregnant and breastfeeding women respond more slowly to the first dose of coronavirus vaccines than other women and form a less strong defense against the virus, according to a new study. But after the second dose their reaction seems almost normal.

Results, published this month The journal Science Translational Medicine suggests that pregnant and breastfeeding women remain susceptible to the virus longer after vaccination. The study underscores the importance of giving these women the second dose on time while monitoring them closely for signs of infection.

During pregnancy, the immune system is altered to tolerate the fetus – effectively a foreign entity – making pregnant women particularly susceptible to pathogens such as coronavirus. Therefore, pregnant women are more likely to become seriously ill and die from Covid than other women of the same age.

Previous research had suggested that pregnancy may also reduce the response to vaccines. But because the first trials of Covid vaccines did not include pregnant and breastfeeding women due to safety concerns, there was limited information on how well they responded to the vaccines.

Researchers analyzed antibodies produced by 84 pregnant women, 31 breastfeeding women, and 16 non-pregnant women of the same age who had been vaccinated with coronavirus vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna.

After the first dose, pregnant and breastfeeding women had fewer antibodies than other women of the same age. And the antibodies were less effective at recruiting other parts of the immune system to fight the virus.

Two to six weeks after the second dose, pregnant and breastfeeding women had as many antibodies as other women their age. consistent with results were obtained from other studies, and qualitative differences also narrowed.

Nursing women increased their response more effectively than pregnant women after the second dose, and the quality of their immune response was more similar to non-pregnant women.

The women in the study were vaccinated at different times during pregnancy. Future studies should analyze the optimal time during pregnancy to administer the vaccines, the researchers said.