Titers of covid-19 Antibodies in Neonates whose Mothers Contracted COVID-19 during Pregnancy Compared to Mothers whom were Vaccinated during Pregnancy

Lior Kashani-Ligumsky ^2,6 אריאל הלפרין ^1,5 Miriam Lopian ^2,6 Ronnie Cohen ^2,6 Hila Senderovich ^2,6 Shelly Czeiger ^2,6 Adina Bar Chaim ³ Irit Kremer ³ Joseph B. Lessing ^2,6 Eli Somekh ^1,5 Ran Neiger ⁴

¹ילדים, מעייני הישועה, ישראל
²גניקולוגיה, מעייני הישועה, ישראל
³מעבדה של ביולוגיה מולקולרית, מעייני הישועה, ישראל
⁴גניקולגיה, האוניברסיטה של דרום קרולניה, ארצות הברית
⁵ילדים, אוניברסיטת תל אביב, ישראל
⁶גניקולוגיה, אוניברסיטת תל אביב, ישראל

Objective: We compared neonatal immunity after vaccination against SARS-Cov-2 during pregnancy to that achieved after maternal infection.

Study Design: We tested cord blood from women infected with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy (group 1), women who were vaccinated during pregnancy (group 2) and from women not infected and not vaccinated (Group 3) for titers of antibodies to both SARS-CoV-2 spike and ‘N’ proteins.

Results: 79 women were included: Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein were detected in all samples from Group 1 and 2. Antibodies to the `N` protein were detected in 25/29 samples in Group 1. None of the samples from Group 3 had antibodies to either protein. Mean titers of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were significantly higher in Group 2 than in Group 1 (p = 0.009).

Conclusions: Neonates born to mothers vaccinated during pregnancy have higher antibody titers and may therefore have more prolonged protection than those born to women infected during pregnancy.