16 May Tdap Vaccine During Pregnancy: Safety and Efficacy

Posted at 10:36h in Author Interviews, Baylor College of Medicine Houston, JAMA, OBGYNE, Vaccine Studies by

Flor M. Munoz, MD Department of Pediatrics Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Flor M. Munoz, MD
Department of Pediatrics
Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas


MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?

Dr. Munoz:

1. Tdap vaccine was safe and well tolerated during pregnancy

2. Women who are pregnant have adequate responses to the Tdap vaccine, similar to those of women who are not pregnant.

3. Antibodies to pertussis are efficiently transferred to the fetus through the placenta so that babies of mothers who were vaccinated during pregnancy had significantly higher concentrations of antibody at birth and up to 2 months of age, when compared to infants of mothers who were vaccinated post-partum.

4. Higher antibody concentrations in the first two months of life are likely to provide protection against pertussis during this period of high vulnerability

5. Infants of mothers who were vaccinated during pregnancy had adequate responses to their routine pertussis vaccines at 2, 4, and 6 months of age, and had expected and adequate responses to their 4th dose of vaccine at 1 year of age. The absolute concentration of antibodies to some of the pertussis antigens might be modestly lower after the primary series of vaccines in some infants of mothers who were vaccinated during pregnancy, but this difference does not persist after the 4th dose.

MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. Munoz: Our findings support the current ACIP/CDC recommendations to vaccinate pregnant women with Tdap to protect them and their newborns against pertussis.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Munoz: We did not aim to study the efficacy of vaccinating pregnant women in preventing infant pertussis infection. Therefore, larger studies to document the safety and efficacy of Tdap vaccination during pregnancy are needed.

Citation:

Munoz FM, Bond NH, Maccato M, et al. Safety and Immunogenicity of Tetanus Diphtheria and Acellular Pertussis (Tdap) Immunization During Pregnancy in Mothers and Infants: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2014;311(17):1760-1769. doi:10.1001/jama.2014.3633.

 

Last Updated on June 4, 2015 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

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