BOCA RATON, Fla. — Two pediatricians based in Boca Raton, Dr. Paul Gilbert and Dr. Chad Rudnick, have published a “pre-print” of the first case believed to be reported in the world of a baby born with antibodies to COVID-19.
“After the vaccine came out, we started looking for people who might be pregnant, who were eligible to get it,” said Gilbert. “We saw the recommendations changed pretty quickly to allow pregnant women to get the vaccine.
Gilbert and Rudnick wrote up a case report, saying a pregnant woman received a single dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. They said three weeks later, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl, who they claim had antibodies against COVID.
“Coming into January, we had the opportunity with a healthcare worker for her to get her vaccine at the end of her pregnancy and then when the baby was born, we were able to test that baby’s cord blood to look for antibodies that were made from the vaccine to see if those antibodies passed from the mom to the baby and potentially give the baby protection,” said Gilbert.
“We were fortunate this was essentially an opportunity study, because of the time this healthcare worker was able to receive her first vaccine, it was early on in the vaccine rollout,” said Rudnick. “It was the first case to our knowledge that was reported in the literature around the world, of a baby born to a mother who had not had COVID previously, and then was vaccinated and then see that they had antibodies.”
The two doctors said because of what they know about antibody transmission to a fetus during pregnancy, this was expected.
“We were very excited to see once the test result came back, that the antibodies from the mom’s vaccine did in fact pass through the plancenta to the newborn,” he said.
They hope this now leads to further studies of maternal COVID vaccinations to protect babies as well.
For both doctors, they said they’re excited at what they believe is the first in the world in our backyard, and a positive in the midst of the pandemic. Right now, Gilbert and Rudnick said they’re in the final phase to get formal publication.
They’re excited at what they believe is the first reported case in the world and a positive in the midst of the pandemic. Right now, they said they’re in the final phase to get formal publication.
“Really cool great scientific opportunity and we knew that we were going to be potentially one of the first in the world to report it and that opportunity probably only comes once in a career,” said Gilbert.
“Being able to report something that is the first in the world in literature is something that does not come up in most careers,” said Rudnick.