Study: COVID During Pregnancy Linked To Higher Autism Risk – KXL

CAMBRIDGE, MA – A Harvard Medical School study shows that COVID during pregnancy is linked to a higher risk of autism. Researchers studied more than 18,000 births in Massachusetts during the early days of the COVID-19 epidemic through March 2021 before vaccines were available. The study, published in the Journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, showed that of the 861 pregnant women who contracted coronavirus, 140 gave birth to children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders or other neurodevelopmental issues by the age of three.

Dr. Andrea Edlow co-authored the study and emphasizes that while the findings don’t prove that COVID during pregnancy causes autism, it shows an “association.”

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced this past spring that the CDC would no longer recommend the coronavirus vaccine during pregnancy.