Respiratory distress (RD) has been observed in SARS-CoV-2 exposed uninfected (SEU) neonates . However, the effect of prenatal COVID-19 vaccination on neonatal RD following in-utero SARS-CoV-2 exposure is unknown. Now, a study investigated the association between maternal COVID-19 vaccination and neonatal RD in 221 mothers with COVID-19 and 227 SEU neonates. In the study, SEU neonates (17%) had high rates of developing RD.
In addition, neonates born to unvaccinated mothers had a higher odds ratio (3.06) of RD compared to neonates born to vaccinated mothers. Furthermore, SEU neonates with RD developed robust inflammatory responses related to ciliary dysregulation and elevated IgE production. The study emphasizes that maternal COVID-19 vaccination can reduce the risk of neonatal RD and recommends mRNA COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women regardless of previous history of SARS-CoV-2…
