US childbirth problems no worse during pandemic; More nursing home data points to vaccine concerns

Here is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that have yet to be certified by peer review.

US childbirth problems no worse during pandemic

Problematic childbirths did not increase in the United States during the pandemic, researchers found in a study of nearly 838,500 women, including more than 225,000 who gave birth during the pandemic.

There were no differences in rates of preterm birth, blood pressure problems in the mother, stillbirth, low birth weight, placenta problems, Cesarean deliveries, or uncontrolled bleeding after delivery, when comparing the March through December 2020 period to the pre-pandemic years of 2017 to 2019, the research team reported in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Roughly half of the women had been tested for the coronavirus while pregnant, and about 7% of them had tested positive.

There were no differences in childbirth outcomes between these groups.

The authors were not able to distinguish between asymptomatic and symptomatic coronavirus infections, or severity of disease, which could have varying effects on pregnancy outcomes, or whether infection earlier or later in pregnancy made a difference.

They only looked at labor and delivery outcomes, not at problems that might have occurred earlier in pregnancy.

More nursing home data points to vaccine concerns

Doctors who immunized 120 nursing home residents against COVID-19 with the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine found protective antibodies in only 28% of the residents six months later, compared to 84% of residents immediately after full vaccination.

The research, published on medRxiv in advance of peer review, adds to evidence showing that protection from the vaccines wanes over time.

Vaccinated healthcare workers had higher antibody levels than residents, which is not surprising because they were younger and healthier, but they too experienced "significant declines" in protection over time, the researchers reported.

Given the "rapid antibody decline" and "the rapid spread of the Delta variant and reports of vaccine breakthrough," they concluded that booster doses are probably needed.

On Wednesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it would "begin efforts to deliver booster shots directly to residents of long-term care facilities," starting in September.  --- Reuters