NEW YORK (AP) — Drugmaker Pfizer and German partner BioNTech have begun a nine-country study of the safety and effectiveness of their COVID-19 vaccine in pregnant women.
The companies said Thursday that the first volunteers have received shots in the study, which is to enroll about 4,000 healthy pregnant women aged 18 and older.
Women in the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mozambique, South Africa, Spain and the UK will be included.
Dr. William Gruber, Pfizer’s head of vaccine clinical research and development, said in a statement that “pregnant women have an increased risk of complications and developing severe COVID-19,” and “it is critical that we develop a vaccine that is safe and effective” for them.
The study will assess effects on the infants for about six months, checking for safety and whether they received potentially protective antibodies from their mothers.
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