Babies are two-thirds less likely to get the flu in their first six months of life if their mother had a flu vaccine while they were pregnant, a large Australian study shows.
Influenza can be particularly dangerous to young children because their immune systems are still developing. In the US, died of the flu in the 2019-20 season.
Many countries now recommend getting a flu shot during pregnancy because protective antibodies are passed to the fetus. 鈥淭hat means that when they鈥檙e born, they have a supply of antibodies that helps to protect them against the flu,鈥� says Damien Foo at Curtin University in Perth, Australia.
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To measure this protective effect, Foo and his colleagues studied 125,000 children born between 2012 and 2016 in Western Australia, where free flu shots have been offered during pregnancy since 2010.
Children whose mothers received a flu vaccine during pregnancy were 67 per cent less likely to get the flu and 61 per cent less likely to be hospitalised with the flu in their first six months of life compared with those whose mothers didn鈥檛 get the jab.
This protective effect didn鈥檛 last beyond six months, probably because antibodies that babies receive from their mothers through the placenta dwindle over time, says Foo. 鈥淏ut that doesn鈥檛 matter because babies can get a flu vaccine themselves once they reach 6 months,鈥� he says.
The study adds to growing evidence of the benefits of flu vaccination during pregnancy, but many pregnant people are still hesitant about getting vaccinated due to safety concerns, says Foo. Only get a flu shot each year.
A large amount of data shows that exposure to flu vaccines in utero is safe and doesn鈥檛 increase the risk of miscarriage, preterm birth, congenital abnormalities or adverse childhood outcomes, although .
This suggests that more needs to be done to encourage flu vaccine uptake during pregnancy, says Foo. 鈥淭he consensus is that the benefits are large and the risks are low,鈥� he says.
Vaccine
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