Developing vaccines to protect mothers and babies

In summary

Maternal vaccination offers a powerful way to protect both pregnant women and their babies from deadly diseases.

In the UK, vaccines like those for influenza and whooping cough are already in use during pregnancy, significantly reducing infections in newborns.

Dr Kirsty Le Doare and her team are now focused on developing vaccines against Group B streptococcus (GBS), a bacterium that causes severe infections in infants, including sepsis, pneumonia, and meningitis.

What did we explore and how?

Dr Le Doare, a Consultant in Paediatric Infection and Immunology, is researching how maternal vaccination can provide early protection to infants.

Her team, funded by UK Research and Innovation, is particularly focused on GBS — a major cause of newborn infection globally, responsible for around 90,000 infant deaths each year.

Currently, some pregnant women are screened for GBS and given antibiotics during birth if they test positive.

However, this only offers short-term protection, fails to cover premature births, and does not protect babies in the weeks and months after delivery.

A GBS vaccine would overcome these limitations, offering broader and longer-lasting protection.

Vaccinating during pregnancy is a two-for-one. 
By vaccinating the mother, you can protect her against diseases that are particularly severe when you are pregnant. You also protect the baby until they are old enough to have their own vaccinations.

Benefits and influence of this research

Several GBS vaccines have completed early clinical trials, but because GBS is relatively rare, large-scale studies are required to generate enough data for regulatory approval.

Dr Le Doare’s research aims to accelerate this process by identifying how much maternal immunity is needed to protect the baby.

If successful, this research could lead to global changes in how maternal care is delivered, reducing reliance on antibiotics and providing vital early protection to newborns - especially in regions with limited access to healthcare.

There are several GBS vaccines that have completed early clinical trials. But GBS is quite rare, so huge trial sizes are needed to provide enough data for licensing,
We are trying to speed up the licensing process by pinpointing exactly how much immunity needs to pass from mother to baby for the vaccine to be effective. We are all hoping that one of the GBS vaccines will be licenced and available for the women who need it by 2025.