Study finds no link between COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy and autism

The prospective multicenter study followed 434 children aged between 18 and 30 months. Half were born to mothers who had received at least one mRNA dose either while pregnant or within the month before conception, while the rest were born to mothers who had not been vaccinated during that period. Specialists evaluated speech, motor development, behavior and social interaction using several validated screening tools.

“Neurodevelopment outcomes in children born to mothers who received the COVID-19 vaccine during or shortly before pregnancy did not differ from those born to mothers who did not receive the vaccine,” said senior researcher George R. Saade, professor and chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Old Dominion University.

To ensure comparability, participants were matched by delivery location, birth date, insurance status and race. Pregnancies ending before 37 weeks, multiple births and major congenital anomalies were excluded.

According to Brenna L. Hughes of Duke University, the findings should provide confidence to families and practitioners.

“This study, conducted through a rigorous scientific process in an NIH clinical trials network, demonstrates reassuring findings regarding the long-term health of children whose mothers received COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy,” she said.

The project was funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Authors emphasized that the conclusions are their own and may not represent official positions of the National Institutes of Health.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that obesity may play a far greater role in deadly infections than previously estimated. A large international study published in The Lancet found that about one in ten infection related deaths worldwide could be attributed to obesity.