Effectiveness of Covid-19 Vaccine in Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The newly developed COVID-19 vaccine faces public's concerns in terms of its effectiveness and safety as an approach in combating COVID-19 pandemic. It is well-established that COVID-19 vaccine is effective alongside being the most promising approach against COVID-19 infection in both general and vulnerable populations. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine in pregnant women as a subgroup of vulnerable population by analysing several important immunological parameters in pregnant women. Specifically, it investigates how effective the COVID-19 vaccine will reduce the infection rate and how it will affect the mothers' antibody levels against SARS-CoV-2. In this study, the immunological parameters investigated are maternal antibody response against SARS-CoV-2 and the transplacental transfer of the antibody. To test the hypothesis that COVID-19 vaccine is effective in pregnant women, a systematic review was conducted on previous studies regarding COVID-19 vaccine and its outcomes in pregnancy. Results were narratively analysed. The results showed reduced COVID-19 infection rate, elevated maternal antibody titre against SARS-CoV-2 and positive transplacental anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody transfer in vaccinated pregnant women in comparison to unvaccinated pregnant women. These results suggest that COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective against COVID-19 infection in pregnant women. Furthermore, COVID-19 vaccine not only elicits sufficient maternal antibody response as an immunity for mothers against COVID-19 infection but also provides similar protection for infants via passive immunity by means of transplacental antibody transfer. In conclusion, the uptake of COVID-19 vaccine and future booster dose by pregnant women should be strongly encouraged due to its favourable outcomes and protection against COVID-19 disease.