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Pregnant and breastfeeding women have slower immune responses to the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine than those who aren't mothers, a new study suggests.
Researchers compared 95 mothers-to-be and new mothers to 16 non-pregnant women, all of whom were fully vaccinated.
They found that expecting and lactating women had fewer antibodies than other women after the initial dose, but their levels returned to 'normal' following the second shot.
The team - from Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School in the Boston area - says the findings show how important it is that pregnant and breastfeeding women receive the second dose on time to lower their risk of serious illness and death from the virus.
A new study compared 84 pregnant women, 31 breastfeeding women and 16 non-pregnant women, all of whom were fully vaccinated against Covid. Pictured: A pregnant woman waits in line for groceries during a food pantry at St Mary's Church in Waltham, Massachusetts, May 2020
After the first dose, pregnant (blue) and breastfeeding women (purple) had lower antibody levels than non-pregnant women (yellow). After the
