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Drug Discovery and Development

Study estimates Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is 78% effective in pregnant women

The novel coronavirus can lead to complications in expectant mothers. The vaccine offered substantial protection.

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Pfizer-BioNTechA retrospective study published in JAMA concluded that the BNT162b2 vaccine from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NSDQ:BNTX) offered statistically significant protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The pivotal trial Pfizer used to win emergency use authorization for the vaccine excluded pregnant women. COVID-19, however, increases the risk of pregnancy-related complications — particularly in the third trimester.

To determine how the vaccine performs in pregnant women, researchers in Israel tracked 7,530 vaccinated and 7,530 unvaccinated expectant mothers. They counted 118 COVID-19 infections in the vaccinated group and 202 in the control group. Researchers recruited volunteers from Maccabi Healthcare Services (Tel Aviv).

Among the two groups of women with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 infections, between 83% and 84% were symptomatic.

Some 68 patients receiving the vaccine complained of adverse events. None of them, however, were severe.

The researchers concluded that pregnancy leads to changes in hormones and immune function that can make women more susceptible to viral infections.

In February, Pfizer and BioNTech announced they were launching a Phase 2/3 study to test the vaccine’s efficacy in pregnant women.

Filed Under: clinical trials, Drug Discovery, Infectious Disease
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About The Author

Brian Buntz

As the pharma and biotech editor at WTWH Media, Brian has almost two decades of experience in B2B media, with a focus on healthcare and technology. While he has long maintained a keen interest in AI, more recently Brian has made making data analysis a central focus, and is exploring tools ranging from NLP and clustering to predictive analytics.

Throughout his 18-year tenure, Brian has covered an array of life science topics, including clinical trials, medical devices, and drug discovery and development. Prior to WTWH, he held the title of content director at Informa, where he focused on topics such as connected devices, cybersecurity, AI and Industry 4.0. A dedicated decade at UBM saw Brian providing in-depth coverage of the medical device sector. Engage with Brian on LinkedIn or drop him an email at bbuntz@wtwhmedia.com.

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