Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective in pregnant women, according to an Israeli study published Sept. 7 in Nature.
The researchers studied 10,861 pregnant women with no history of COVID-19 who were vaccinated between Dec. 20 and June 3 in Israel, and they were matched with 10,861 unvaccinated pregnant women as controls. All women included in the study were age 16 or older.
Pfizer's vaccine was highly effective against the coronavirus variants circulating in Israel during the study, according to the researchers. They said the shot's effectiveness in pregnant women is similar to the effectiveness observed in the general population, as it was 96 percent effective for any infection and 97 percent effective for symptomatic infection 7 through 56 days after the second dose.
The study did not examine pregnancy complications or preterm births. The researchers said more research is needed to determine post-birth protection among infants whose mothers were vaccinated during pregnancy.