Mary-Kate delivered her daughter about three months ago.
The “happy, healthy baby…is growing like she’s supposed to be” — and she was born with COVID-19 antibodies. It’s the first known case of a baby being born with antibodies from her pregnant mother’s vaccination, Columbus-based WBNS 10 TV reported Monday (April 12).
"To our knowledge, this was the first in the world that was reported of a baby being born with antibodies after a vaccination," Dr. Paul Gilbert previously told Florida's WPBF Channel 25 News. "We tested the baby's cord to see if the antibodies in the mother passed to the baby, which is something we see happen with other vaccines given during pregnancy."
Mary-Kate is an Ohio woman and Ohio State University grad who has since relocated to Florida, where she conducts ultrasounds for patients.
Early COVID-19 trials didn't include pregnant women, so when Mary-Kate was considering the vaccine, information about getting vaccinated while pregnant was scarce (however, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention points expecting mothers to Mother To Baby to ask experts about vaccine safety). Still, Mary-Kate knew that it was possible for other vaccines to transfer antibodies to an unborn baby. That's why she opted to get her first shot three weeks before giving birth to Addison, at 36 weeks pregnant. Blood tests show that Addison’s is the first known case of COVID-19 antibodies transferring to an unborn baby worldwide, WBNS reports.
“This was my best option and the best option for [Addison],” Mary-Kate told the station. “So, I didn’t even really think twice. The second I knew I could schedule a vaccine and get it is when I did.”
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