Effect of Maternal Influenza Vaccination on Infant Mortality

HealthDay News — Maternal receipt of influenza and tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccines is not associated with infant hospitalization or death in the first 6 months of life, according to a study published online in Pediatrics.

Lakshmi Sukumaran, MD, MPH., from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues examined the correlation between maternal receipt of influenza and Tdap vaccines and the risk of infant hospitalization or death. Singleton, live-birth pregnancies in the Vaccine Safety Datalink between 2004 and 2014 were included.

The researchers identified 413,034 live births in the population. In the first 6 months of life, 25,222 infants had hospitalizations and 157 infants died. There was no correlation between infant hospitalization and maternal influenza (adjusted odds ratio, 1; 95% CI, 0.96-1.04) or Tdap (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.94; 95% CI, 0.88-1.01) vaccinations. No correlation was identified between infant mortality and maternal influenza (aOR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.54-1.69) or Tdap (aOR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.17-1.13) vaccinations.

“These findings support the safety of current recommendations for influenza and Tdap vaccination during pregnancy,” the investigators wrote.

Disclosures: Two researchers disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

Reference

Sukumaran L, McCarthy NL, Kharbanda EO, et al. Infant hospitalizations and mortality after maternal vaccination [published online February 20,2018]. Pediatrics. doi:10.1542/peds.2017-3310