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Can We Protect Pregnant Women and Young Infants From COVID-19 Through Maternal Immunization?

Educational Objective
To identify the key insights or developments described in this article
1 Credit CME

Infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during pregnancy and early infancy can result in severe disease.13 Less is known about the immune responses of pregnant women with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the possibility for infant protection. Vaccination of pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in development has begun in the United States in the context of emergency use authorized vaccine deployment for high-risk priority groups and guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.48 Therefore, it is imperative to better understand the potential of immunization during pregnancy for maternal and infant disease prevention and for the implementation of pandemic control strategies.

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Article Information

Corresponding Author: Flor M. Munoz, MD, Section of Infectious Diseases, Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, BCM-280, Houston, TX 77030 (florm@bcm.edu).

Published Online: January 29, 2021. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.0043

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Munoz reported serving on the data and safety monitoring boards of Moderna, Pfizer, Virometix, and Meissa Vaccines and grants from Novavax Research and Gilead Research outside the submitted work.

References
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Allotey  J , Stallings  E , Bonet  M ,  et al; for PregCOV-19 Living Systematic Review Consortium.  Clinical manifestations, risk factors, and maternal and perinatal outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 in pregnancy: living systematic review and meta-analysis.   BMJ. 2020;370:m3320. doi:10.1136/bmj.m3320 PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
2.
Zambrano  LD , Ellington  S , Strid  P ,  et al; CDC COVID-19 Response Pregnancy and Infant Linked Outcomes Team.  Update: characteristics of symptomatic women of reproductive age with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection by pregnancy status: United States, January 22-October 3, 2020.   MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(44):1641-1647. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6944e3 PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
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Woodworth  KR , Olsen  EO , Neelam  V ,  et al; CDC COVID-19 Response Pregnancy and Infant Linked Outcomes Team; COVID-19 Pregnancy and Infant Linked Outcomes Team (PILOT).  Birth and infant outcomes following laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy: SET-NET, 16 jurisdictions, March 29-October 14, 2020.   MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(44):1635-1640. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6944e2PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
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US Food and Drug Administration. Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Updated January 12, 2021. Accessed January 13, 2021. https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine
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US Food and Drug Administration. Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Updated January 6, 2021. Accessed January 13, 2021. https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/moderna-covid-19-vaccine
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. COVID-19 ACIP vaccine recommendations. Updated December 22, 2020. Accessed January 13, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/acip-recs/vacc-specific/covid-19.html
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Dooling  K , Marin  M , Wallace  M ,  et al.  The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ updated interim recommendations for allocation of COVID-19 vaccine: United States, December 2020.   MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2021;69(5152):1657-1660. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm695152e2PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
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American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Vaccinating pregnant and lactating patients against COVID-19. Published December 2020. Accessed January 13, 2021. https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/practice-advisory/articles/2020/12/vaccinating-pregnant-and-lactating-patients-against-covid-19
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Flannery  DD , Gouma  S , Dhudasia  MB ,  et al.  Assessment of maternal and neonatal cord blood SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and placental transfer ratios.   JAMA Pediatr. Published online January 29, 2021. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.0038Google Scholar
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Madhi  SA , Polack  FP , Piedra  PA ,  et al; Prepare Study Group.  Respiratory syncytial virus vaccination during pregnancy and effects in infants.   N Engl J Med. 2020;383(5):426-439. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1908380 PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
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Edlow  AG , Li  JZ , Collier  AY ,  et al.  Assessment of maternal and neonatal SARS-CoV-2 viral load, transplacental antibody transfer, and placental pathology in pregnancies during the COVID-19 pandemic.   JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(12):e2030455. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.30455 PubMedGoogle Scholar
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AMA CME Accreditation Information

Credit Designation Statement: The American Medical Association designates this Journal-based CME activity activity for a maximum of 1.00  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to:

  • 1.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;;
  • 1.00 Self-Assessment points in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s (ABOHNS) Continuing Certification program;
  • 1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;
  • 1.00 Lifelong Learning points in the American Board of Pathology’s (ABPath) Continuing Certification program; and
  • 1.00 CME points in the American Board of Surgery’s (ABS) Continuing Certification program

It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting MOC credit.

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