A new study on the impact of COVID-19 on U.S. infants finds the proportion of hospitalized infants whose mothers were vaccinated during pregnancy will increase from 18% in October 2023 to 4% in April 2024. It pointed out that the number of vaccinations has decreased sharply, highlighting the need to increase vaccine intake.
Another report estimates that unexpected infant deaths jumped 14% in 2021 compared to pre-pandemic totals.
Infants are dependent on maternal antibodies
In yesterday’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), a team led by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 1,470 COVID-19-related hospitalizations for infants under age announced that it had analyzed data from the COVID-NET surveillance network (COVID-NET). Six months from October 2022 to April 2024, results, maternal vaccination status, and viral code detection.
Infants under 6 months of age are at increased risk of severe COVID-19 infection, but are not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. These children rely on transplacental transfer of maternal antibodies from vaccination or infection for protection.
During the study period, the weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate for infants was higher than for any other age group except for adults 75 and older, and was similar to the hospitalization rate for 65 to 74-year-olds. Infant hospitalization rates have peaked. In December 2022-23 and January 2023-24, the rate was 23.0 and 20.3 per 100,000 infants.
“Infants under 6 months of age are at high risk for severe COVID-19 infection, but are not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. ,” the study authors wrote. I wrote.
Of the 1,065 infants whose mothers’ vaccination status was known, 87.5% of mothers had no record of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy. The proportion of hospitalized infants whose mothers received a COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy decreased from 17.6% in 2022-23 to 4.3% in 2023-24.
Excluding newborns hospitalized at birth, approximately 1 in 5 infants under 6 months of age hospitalized with COVID-19 were admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), and 1 in 20 were placed on a ventilator. Nine people died in hospital. All infants who died had unvaccinated mothers.
999 (87.1%) hospitalized infants were tested for other viruses, and 286 (29.7%) had one or more other viruses identified, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in 19.3%, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in 12.2%. were rhinovirus/enterovirus and 1.9% were influenza. . Of 233 of 260 infants (89.8%) admitted to the ICU and tested for other pathogens, another virus was identified in 41.2%, of which 25.1% were RSV.
“To protect young infants from severe outcomes associated with COVID-19, prevention includes vaccination of pregnant women, which protects infants through placental antibody transfer, as well as hand hygiene and vaccination of those with signs of respiratory illness. The focus should be on non-drug interventions, such as avoiding contact with “symptoms,” the researchers wrote.
Increase in sudden infant deaths due to pandemic
In a second study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open, a Pennsylvania State-led research team investigated sudden infant death (SUID) and sudden infant death (SUID) during the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 to December 2021). We compared the monthly incidence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). ) and those before the pandemic (March 2018 to December 2019). The researchers used data from the CDC on infant deaths from unexplained SIDS, accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed.
SIDS, a type of SUID of unknown cause that occurs during sleep, accounts for about one-third of SUID cases.
“Infectious diseases are thought to drive the chain of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS),” the researchers wrote. “The epidemiological patterns of infectious diseases such as respiratory syncytial virus and influenza have changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
From January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2021, 14,308 infants (42% girls) died from SUID. SUID risk increased slightly during the pandemic (intensity ratio (IR), 1.06), increasing above pre-pandemic values from July 2020 and increasing by 10% to 14% from June to December 2021 I did.
These findings support the hypothesis that off-season recurrence of endemic infectious pathogens may be associated with SUID rates and that RSV rates in the United States closely approximate this variation.
SIDS incidence was higher than baseline throughout the pandemic period, with the largest spikes in July 2021 (IR, 1.18) and August 2021 (IR, 1.17). Seasonal changes in RSV hospitalizations coincided with monthly changes in SUID in 2021.
“These findings support the hypothesis that off-season resurgence of endemic infectious pathogens may be associated with SUID rates, and that RSV rates in the United States closely approximate this change.” the authors concluded. “The role of infection in SUID and SIDS requires further investigation.”
In a Penn State press release, lead author Emma Guare, a fourth-year Penn State medical student, said SUID likely has many causes. “Despite education about safe sleep environments and back-to-sleep campaigns encouraging parents to put their babies to sleep on their backs, rates of SUID remain high,” she says.
Co-author Dr. Eric Batra of Pennsylvania State University said no one knows why some infants are more susceptible to SUID or SIDS. “Infections like RSV may amplify these factors, making you more vulnerable. Especially in the case of RSV, RSV causes more apnea than other viruses when breathing stops temporarily. “The question arises as to whether or not it causes this,” he said. Contribute to an environment that promotes SUID. ”
