New research offers evidence that getting a second or third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the final stages of pregnancy offers protection for infants against SARS-CoV-2 infection (the virus that causes COVID-19 illness).

Co-author, Dr. Deshayne Fellnorth_eastexternal link helped conduct the register-based cohort study of all live-born infants in Norway born between Sept. 1, 2021 and Feb. 28, 2022. The study published in JAMA Internal Medicinenorth_eastexternal link is one of only two studies published that quantifies a reduction in COVID-19 infection risk in babies during the first four months of life if their mother was vaccinated during pregnancy.

“Young infants are at higher risk of severe COVID-19 compared with older children, and there is no approved COVID-19 vaccine for this age group. Getting fully vaccinated against COVID-19 during pregnancy helps protect young infants from potential SARS-CoV-2 infection when they are born,” said Dr. Fell, Associate Professor in the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Medicine and Scientist at the CHEO Research Institute.