Doctors say vaccinated pregnant woman passed antibodies to baby

ORLANDO, Fla. - Local teacher Jessica Furiosi documented the day she got the COVID-19 vaccine with a short video she shared on social media.

Twenty-weeks pregnant and back in the classroom, she wanted that protection.

"I just felt this immense weight lift off of me that I didn’t realize I was holding onto," she said about getting the shot.

Many states, like Florida, have made pregnant women eligible to get the vaccine since they’re more likely to get really sick from coronavirus.  

But getting vaccinated hasn’t been an easy decision for a lot of expecting mothers.

"With almost everything in medicine, pregnant women are almost always excluded from those initial trials," said Dr. Chad Rudnick, a Boca Raton pediatrician.

Rudnick and Dr. Paul Gilbert are filling in some of the blanks on what happens when a mom-to-be gets the shot.

The doctors tracked a pregnant healthcare worker who got the vaccine in late December at 36 weeks.

"After the baby was born, we were able to test the baby’s cord blood and did come back positive for the COVID antibodies that are specific to the vaccine, and it was exciting," Gilbert said.

Proof that the baby could also have protection from the vaccine. Furiosi says that hope went into her decision to get the shot.  

"I figured if I have that chance to help protect my kid in another way, why not take it?" Furiosi said.

Rudnick and Gilbert say there are still a lot of unknowns, like how long the immunity may last and when the best time is for a pregnant woman to be vaccinated.

But, this is a big first step for pregnant women dealing with the pandemic around the world.