The first Covid-19 vaccine study for women who are pregnant has been launched across the UK - with Edinburgh playing a key role in the research.
The study will look to understand the safety and tolerability of the Pfizer-BioNTech jab in women who are both pregnant and healthy.
It will also seek to evaluate the immunogenicity of the jab in pregnant women - the type of immune responses that the vaccine generates and their magnitude over time.
Recruitment for more than 200 UK participants will begin this week. The study, which involves the University of Edinburgh's MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, is taking place across 11 sites, including the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
Two doses
Participants will initially receive two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or a placebo with a gap of 21 days between them. The placebo will consist of a salt water solution which does not contain any active ingredients. Women who receive placebo will be given the first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine one month after birth and the second dose 21 days later.
Those who take part will then be required to answer questionnaires about their health. They will also be asked to provide blood samples, complete an e-diary and will receive extra monitoring throughout the study.
As well as this, volunteers will need to visit their site four times before their baby is born, and twice after the birth.
