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Multicenter Study
. 2022 Jul 14;387(2):109-119.
doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2204399. Epub 2022 Jun 22.

Maternal Vaccination and Risk of Hospitalization for Covid-19 among Infants

Collaborators, Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Maternal Vaccination and Risk of Hospitalization for Covid-19 among Infants

Natasha B Halasa et al. N Engl J Med. .

Abstract

Background: Infants younger than 6 months of age are at high risk for complications of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and are not eligible for vaccination. Transplacental transfer of antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) after maternal Covid-19 vaccination may confer protection against Covid-19 in infants.

Methods: We used a case-control test-negative design to assess the effectiveness of maternal vaccination during pregnancy against hospitalization for Covid-19 among infants younger than 6 months of age. Between July 1, 2021, and March 8, 2022, we enrolled infants hospitalized for Covid-19 (case infants) and infants hospitalized without Covid-19 (control infants) at 30 hospitals in 22 states. We estimated vaccine effectiveness by comparing the odds of full maternal vaccination (two doses of mRNA vaccine) among case infants and control infants during circulation of the B.1.617.2 (delta) variant (July 1, 2021, to December 18, 2021) and the B.1.1.259 (omicron) variant (December 19, 2021, to March 8, 2022).

Results: A total of 537 case infants (181 of whom had been admitted to a hospital during the delta period and 356 during the omicron period; median age, 2 months) and 512 control infants were enrolled and included in the analyses; 16% of the case infants and 29% of the control infants had been born to mothers who had been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 during pregnancy. Among the case infants, 113 (21%) received intensive care (64 [12%] received mechanical ventilation or vasoactive infusions). Two case infants died from Covid-19; neither infant's mother had been vaccinated during pregnancy. The effectiveness of maternal vaccination against hospitalization for Covid-19 among infants was 52% (95% confidence interval [CI], 33 to 65) overall, 80% (95% CI, 60 to 90) during the delta period, and 38% (95% CI, 8 to 58) during the omicron period. Effectiveness was 69% (95% CI, 50 to 80) when maternal vaccination occurred after 20 weeks of pregnancy and 38% (95% CI, 3 to 60) during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Conclusions: Maternal vaccination with two doses of mRNA vaccine was associated with a reduced risk of hospitalization for Covid-19, including for critical illness, among infants younger than 6 months of age. (Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.).

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Study Enrollment and Outcomes (July 1, 2021–March 8, 2022).
Women were considered to be fully vaccinated if they had completed a two-dose series of either the BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 vaccine during pregnancy; women could have received the first dose before pregnancy and the second dose during pregnancy. Women were considered to be partially vaccinated if they had received one dose of vaccine during pregnancy and no dose before pregnancy. Women were considered to be unvaccinated if they had not received vaccine doses during pregnancy and before their infant’s hospitalization. Covid-19 denotes coronavirus disease 2019, and SARS-CoV-2 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Clinical Severity of Covid-19 as Indicated by Outcomes among Case Infants, According to Maternal Vaccination Status.
Critical Covid-19 was defined as Covid-19 leading to life-supporting interventions (i.e., noninvasive mechanical ventilation [bilevel positive airway pressure or continuous positive airway pressure], invasive mechanical ventilation, vasoactive infusions, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) or to death. An infant could have been included in more than one outcome category. Two infants who had been born to unvaccinated mothers (2 of 450 infants [<1%]) received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. An additional 2 infants who had been born to unvaccinated mothers (2 of 442 infants [<1%]) died; among the 450 infants who had been born to unvaccinated mothers, 8 had mothers for whom data on hospital discharge were not available. ICU denotes intensive care unit.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Effectiveness of Maternal Two-Dose mRNA Vaccination against Hospitalization for Covid-19 among Infants, Stratified According to Vaccination Timing, Variant, and Type of Admission.
The delta-predominant period was defined as July 1, 2021, to December 18, 2021. The omicron-predominant period was defined as December 19, 2021, to March 8, 2022. The timing of maternal vaccination was based on the date of receipt of the second dose of a two-dose series of an mRNA Covid-19 vaccine during pregnancy. Gestational age was missing for 3 infants who had been born to vaccinated mothers with known timing of the second dose; for these infants, classification of vaccination timing was based on a gestational age of 40 weeks. For 16 infants who had been born to mothers who had been fully vaccinated during pregnancy, dates of vaccination were not available to determine the vaccination timing during pregnancy. Vaccine effectiveness was calculated as (1 − adjusted odds ratio) x 100, where the odds ratio is the odds of maternal vaccination among mothers of case infants as compared with control infants. The widths of the confidence intervals have not been adjusted for multiplicity and should not be used in place of a hypothesis test.

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