The effect of vaccination against pertussis during pregnancy on infants’ antibody responses to primary and booster vaccinations.

Vaccination with tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine in pregnancy aims to protect young infants from "whooping cough" disease in young infancy. This strategy is highly effective in reducing pertussis disease in young infants and is recommended in Canada and increasingly number of countries. This individual-participant data meta-analysis funded by British Columbia Immunization Committee aimed to determine the effect of Tdap vaccination in pregnancy on infants’ vaccine responses and factors affecting these immune responses. Infants of women vaccinated against pertussis in pregnancy had lower antibody levels against pertussis, diphtheria and some streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes after their vaccination compared with infants of unvaccinated women. Maternally-derived antibodies induced by Tdap vaccination in pregnancy reduced infants’ immune responses to primary and booster vaccination. Enhanced surveillance of pertussis, diphtheria and invasive pneumococcal disease in infants of women vaccinated with Tdap in pregnancy is needed to determine the clinical significance of these findings. Infant vaccination programs may need to be modified in settings where Tdap vaccination in pregnancy is implemented, if these lower antibody levels are clinically significant. Presenter: Dr. Bahaa Abu-Raya is a Pediatric Infectious Disease Physician-scientist at the Vaccine Evaluation Center, University of British Columbia. Dr. Abu-Raya's research has been predominantly in the field of pertussis immunization in pregnancy and his research has contributed to immunization policy in several countries. Specifically, the recommendation that pregnant women need to be immunized with pertussis vaccine in every pregnancy and also the ideal timing of pertussis immunization in pregnancy. Dr Abu-Raya is the recipient of the prestigious 2019 European Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases Young Investigator Award and Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.

BC CDC Presenters

2/23/2021 8:00:00 PM