Florida mother gives birth to first-known baby with COVID antibodies, doctors say

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A Florida mother who received one dose of the coronavirus vaccine while pregnant has passed antibodies to her newborn, doctors say.

Her child is believed to be the first baby known to be born with COVID-19 antibodies, according to reports. 

"To our knowledge, this was the first in the world that was reported of a baby being born with antibodies after a vaccination," pediatrician Paul Gilbert told Tequesta's WPBF.

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The mother, a front-line health worker, was 36-weeks pregnant when she was administered the first dose of the Moderna vaccine. A blood sample was taken after the baby was born in January to see if the antibodies in the mother passed to the baby, which Gilbert said was something "we see happen with other vaccines given during pregnancy." 

"This is one small case in what will be thousands and thousands of babies born to mothers who have been vaccinated over the next several months," added pediatrician, Chad Rudnick.

The woman received the second dose during the post-partum period in accordance with the 28-day vaccination timeline, the researchers wrote in a pre-print case report that has yet to be peer-reviewed. (The doctors told the station that the paper has been accepted for publication and they are just waiting for it to be officially posted on the journal's site.)

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While the development is potentially important in the fight against coronavirus, the researchers warned that newborns born to vaccinated mothers will still remain at risk for infection due to certain factors, according to WPBF. 

A separate study published last month in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that those who have COVID-19 antibodies have a significantly lower risk of reinfection compared to those who do not have them. 

The study also suggests that those who have coronavirus antibodies may be protected from reinfection up to 90 days, or about three months, and possibly beyond. 

Rudnick, however, noted that further studies are needed to determine how long the protection will last. 

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"They have to determine at what level of protection or how many antibodies does a baby need to have circulating in order to give them protection," he told the station.