Effect of COVID-19 vaccination and booster on maternal-fetal outcomes: a retrospective cohort study

• Published in: The Lancet. Digital health 2023-09, Vol.5 (9), p.e594-e606
• Main Authors: Piekos, Samantha N, Hwang, Yeon Mi, Roper, Ryan T, Sorensen, Tanya, Price, Nathan D, Hood, Leroy, Hadlock, Jennifer J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: BNT162 Vaccine; Child; Cohort Studies; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - prevention & control; COVID-19 Vaccines; Female; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Pregnancy; Premature Birth - epidemiology; Retrospective Studies; SARS-CoV-2; Stillbirth - epidemiology
• ISSN: 2589-7500; 2589-7500
• DOI: 10.1016/S2589-7500(23)00093-6

COVID-19 in pregnant people increases the risk for poor maternal-fetal outcomes. However, COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy remains due to concerns over the vaccine's potential effects on maternal-fetal outcomes. Here we examine the impact of COVID-19 vaccination and boosters on maternal SARS-CoV-2 infections and birth outcomes. This was a retrospective multicentre cohort study on the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on maternal-fetal outcomes for people who delivered (n=106 428) at Providence St Joseph Health across seven western US states from Jan 26, 2021 to Oct 26, 2022. Cohorts were defined by vaccination status at delivery: vaccinated (n=35 926; two or more doses of mRNA-1273 Moderna or BNT162b2 Pfizer-BioNTech), unvaccinated (n=55 878), unvaccinated propensity score matched (n=16 771), boosted (n=10 927; three or more doses), vaccinated unboosted (n=13 243; two doses only), and vaccinated unboosted with propensity score matching (n=4414). We built supervised machine learning classification models, which we used to determine which people were more likely to be vaccinated or boosted at delivery. The primary outcome was maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection. COVID-19 vaccination status at delivery, COVID-19-related health care, preterm birth, stillbirth, and very low birthweight were evaluated as secondary outcomes. Vaccinated people were more likely to conceive later in the pandemic, have commercial insurance, be older, live in areas with lower household composition vulnerability, and have a higher BMI than unvaccinated people. Boosted people were more likely to have more days since receiving the second COVID-19 vaccine dose, conceive earlier in the pandemic, have commercial insurance, be older, and live in areas with lower household composition vulnerability than vaccinated unboosted people. Vaccinated pregnant people had lower rates of COVID-19 during pregnancy (4·0%) compared with unvaccinated matched people (5·3%; p