COVID Vaccine in Pregnancy: No Autism Risk for Babies | Latest Research

Recent studies are offering reassurance to expectant parents regarding the potential link between COVID-19 vaccination and neurodevelopmental conditions in their children. Researchers have found no evidence to suggest that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines administered during pregnancy increase the risk of autism or other developmental concerns in offspring.

A study presented at the February 12, 2026 Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Pregnancy Meeting and published findings today, evaluated nearly 434 children. Half of these children were born to mothers who received at least one dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine during or within 30 days before pregnancy, while the other half were born to unvaccinated mothers. Researchers assessed the toddlers, aged between 18 and 30 months, using four standard screening tools – the Ages and Stages Questionnaire Version 3 (ASQ-3), the Child Behavior Checklist, the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, and the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire. Importantly, these screenings are designed to identify potential areas of concern and are not diagnostic tools for autism.

“The fact that there were no differences on all four of these outcomes is evidence that COVID vaccination does not result in developmental concerns for most children,” said Alycia Halladay, PhD, chief science officer at the Autism Science Foundation, who was not involved in the new study.

These findings align with earlier research conducted during the pandemic itself. A study published in September 2024 in JAMA Network Open examined children born during the first year of the pandemic, including those exposed to COVID-19 in utero. Researchers from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons found no increased risk of screening positive for autism in these children compared to those born before the pandemic or who had no prenatal COVID-19 exposure. This was a particularly important area of investigation, as maternal infection and stress are known risk factors for autism.

“Autism risk is known to increase with virtually any kind of insult to mom during pregnancy, including infection and stress,” explains Dani Dumitriu, associate professor of pediatrics and psychiatry and senior author of the Columbia University study. “The scale of the COVID pandemic had pediatricians, researchers, and developmental scientists worried that we would see an uptick in autism rates. But reassuringly, we didn’t find any indication of such an increase in our study.”

It’s crucial to note that the Columbia study, like the more recent research, focused on screening for autism risk, not definitive diagnoses. “It’s too early to have definitive diagnostic numbers,” Dumitriu added. “But this screener is predictive, and it’s not showing that prenatal exposure to COVID or the pandemic increases the likelihood of autism.”

Further supporting these findings, a population-based cohort study from Sweden and Norway, examining data from over 196,000 infants (94,303 exposed to mRNA COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy and 102,167 controls), showed no increased risk of adverse events in newborns associated with maternal vaccination. This study, published in JAMA Network, adds to the growing body of evidence supporting the safety of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy.

The reassurance provided by these studies is particularly significant given the known risks associated with COVID-19 infection during pregnancy. Health officials have consistently emphasized that while COVID-19 vaccines are safe for pregnant women, infection with the virus itself is not. The potential complications of COVID-19 during pregnancy can be serious for both mother and baby.

While these studies offer strong evidence against a link between COVID-19 vaccines and autism, researchers emphasize the importance of continued monitoring of child development as the “COVID generation” grows. The long-term effects of the pandemic and vaccination are still being studied, and ongoing research will provide a more comprehensive understanding of child neurodevelopment.

These findings aim to address and dispel myths surrounding COVID-19 vaccines and their potential impact on child health. The consistent message from researchers is that vaccination during pregnancy is a safe and effective way to protect both mother and child, and does not appear to increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders like autism.