Newborn babies have not been exposed to an increased health risk by their mothers being vaccinated against Covid-19, a study has found.
On the contrary, the research indicated the chances of babies of inoculated mothers developing serious neonatal complications were reduced.
The largest study focusing on the safety of newborn babies whose mothers were vaccinated during pregnancy found the mortality rate was reduced.
Lead author Mikael Norman, professor of paediatrics and neonatology at the Karolinska Institutet in Solna, Sweden, told The National his team was surprised at the results and remained puzzled over the reason behind the higher rates of protection afforded to babies of immunised mothers.
"The lower risk for neonatal death and neonatal brain lesions in babies to mothers who were vaccinated in pregnancy surprised us," he said.
"We did not expect the lower risk for neonatal death to be so robust, even after taking several background factors into account, such as maternal age, BMI, education, country of birth, smoking status, season of conception, parity, multiple births and gestational age.
"Analyses restricted to women without Covid-19 in pregnancy, or to infants born at term, infants without birth defects and singleton births did not alter the findings.
“We made several attempts to explain this finding. A direct vaccine effect is unlikely. Previous studies have shown that the vaccine does not cross the placenta and that it cannot be found in umbilical cord blood.”
The study, published in the medical journal JAMA, was a collaboration between Swedish and Norwegian scientists.
Researchers observed 200,000 newborns in both countries and conducted seven subgroup analyses of women and their babies.
Prof Norman said it was of vital importance to understand the root causes of the findings.
“No matter how we look at it, the finding remains and therefore we cannot say what the lower risk of death among infants of vaccinated women relates to,” he said.
"So far, we haven´t decided how to proceed. While we have large numbers of women and robust data, we are limited by the variables available in our national registers."
The researchers used national registers in Norway and Sweden and included 98 per cent of all newborn babies of women who became pregnant after Covid-19 vaccines became available.
All births from gestational week 22 onwards were included.
The first baby analysed was born in June 2021 and the last in January 2023. All babies were followed up for at least one month or for as long as they were admitted to a neonatal unit.
The study included 196,470 newborns of whom 48 per cent of their mothers had been vaccinated with one or more doses of an mRNA vaccine against Covid-19.
Almost 80 per cent had received the Pfizer/BioNTech shot and a little more than 20 per cent had had the Moderna vaccine.
In addition to a lower number of infant deaths, the researchers also found a significantly reduced risk of two other serious complications in infants born to mothers who had been vaccinated.
In total, 15 neonatal complications and conditions were studied.
“We saw lower rates of cerebral haemorrhages and hypoxia-ischemic conditions of the brain in the newborns of vaccinated than in babies of unvaccinated in pregnancy, while the incidence of other bleeding, blood clots or inflammation in various organ systems did not differ between the groups,” Prof Norman said.
He said the findings were of “great importance” for health professionals offering counselling, authorities issuing recommendations and for anyone who will become pregnant in the future.
“Covid-19 is still present in society and is probably something we will have to deal with for a long time,” he said.
“It is therefore very important for the 100,000 women who become pregnant every year in Sweden, and the 130 million in the world, to know that vaccination with mRNA-vaccines against Covid-19 is safe for their babies. We found no increased risks – if anything, infants to vaccinated women had lower risks for some severe outcomes.”
He said he hoped the research would encourage more people to take up the vaccine.
"Our findings are good news for pregnant women who want to protect themselves and their babies in the future," Prof Norman said.
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Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.
Account name: Dar Al Ber Society
Account Number: 11 530 734
IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734
Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae
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Abdul Jabar Qahraman was meeting supporters in his campaign office in the southern Afghan province of Helmand when a bomb hidden under a sofa exploded on Wednesday.
The blast in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah killed the Afghan election candidate and at least another three people, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak told reporters. Another three were wounded, while three suspects were detained, he said.
The Taliban – which controls much of Helmand and has vowed to disrupt the October 20 parliamentary elections – claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mr Qahraman was at least the 10th candidate killed so far during the campaign season, and the second from Lashkar Gah this month. Another candidate, Saleh Mohammad Asikzai, was among eight people killed in a suicide attack last week. Most of the slain candidates were murdered in targeted assassinations, including Avtar Singh Khalsa, the first Afghan Sikh to run for the lower house of the parliament.
The same week the Taliban warned candidates to withdraw from the elections. On Wednesday the group issued fresh warnings, calling on educational workers to stop schools from being used as polling centres.
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Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
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The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
PROVISIONAL FIXTURE LIST
Premier League
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Friday, June 19 Norwich v Southampton 9pm; Tottenham v Manchester United 11pm
Saturday, June 20 Watford v Leicester 3.30pm; Brighton v Arsenal 6pm; West Ham v Wolves 8.30pm; Bournemouth v Crystal Palace 10.45pm
Sunday, June 21 Newcastle v Sheffield United 2pm; Aston Villa v Chelsea 7.30pm; Everton v Liverpool 10pm
Monday, June 22 Manchester City v Burnley 11pm (Sky)
Tuesday, June 23 Southampton v Arsenal 9pm; Tottenham v West Ham 11.15pm
Wednesday, June 24 Manchester United v Sheffield United 9pm; Newcastle v Aston Villa 9pm; Norwich v Everton 9pm; Liverpool v Crystal Palace 11.15pm
Thursday, June 25 Burnley v Watford 9pm; Leicester v Brighton 9pm; Chelsea v Manchester City 11.15pm; Wolves v Bournemouth 11.15pm
Sunday June 28 Aston Villa vs Wolves 3pm; Watford vs Southampton 7.30pm
Monday June 29 Crystal Palace vs Burnley 11pm
Tuesday June 30 Brighton vs Manchester United 9pm; Sheffield United vs Tottenham 11.15pm
Wednesday July 1 Bournemouth vs Newcastle 9pm; Everton vs Leicester 9pm; West Ham vs Chelsea 11.15pm
Thursday July 2 Arsenal vs Norwich 9pm; Manchester City vs Liverpool 11.15pm
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What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
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1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
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Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
