Objective. To examine the characteristics of pregnancy and to assess the efficacy of intranasal recombinant interferon (IFN) alpha-2b in pregnant women with COVID-19 and in newborns with perinatal exposure. Patients and methods. We examined 200 pregnant women hospitalized with a novel coronavirus infection between May 2020 and January 2021, and 125 neonates born from these pregnant women. Maternal age ranged from 19 to 37 years. The number of first births was 37 (18.5%). All pregnant women were divided into 3 groups by gestational age: Group 1 included 27 (13.5%) pregnant women who had coronavirus infection in the first trimester of pregnancy, Group 2 included 48 (24%) pregnant women who had coronavirus infection in the second trimester, and the Group 3 included 125 (62.5%) pregnant women who had coronavirus infection in the third trimester. Results. The frequency of obstetric complications after novel coronavirus infection increases with gestational age (from 7.4% in the first trimester to 28% in the third trimester). Pregnant women in the second trimester have an increased risk of developing severe forms of novel coronavirus infection and pneumonia (up to 70.8%). The use of recombinant interferon (IFN) alpha-2b in newborns with perinatal exposure to COVID-19 has a preventive effect. Among neonates from COVID-positive mothers who received intranasal recombinant IFN alpha-2b for the prevention only 7.7% of children developed COVID-19, whereas in the group of neonates who did not receive this preventive medicine 20% of children contracted the disease. Conclusion. The use of intranasal recombinant IFN-based medicine (Grippferon®, nasal drops) in pregnant women with COVID-19 for the treatment and in newborns with perinatal exposure to novel coronavirus infection for the prophylactics has a statistically significant positive effect. Keywords: pregnant women, newborns, novel coronavirus infection, COVID-19, interferon alpha-2b, Grippferon

According to the WHO data, the pneumococcal infection (PI) is recognized as one of the most dangerous of all vaccine-preventable diseases due to its high mortality rates. The purpose of the study was to analyze the incidence of acute diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract in children depending on the presence and frequency of vaccinations against PI with PREVNAR 13® vaccine during the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) pandemic. Materials and methods of the research: a retrospective analysis of the child development histories (Form No. 112/u “Child Development History”) of 92 children (45 boys, 47 girls) aged 3.1 [2.2; 3.5] years old observed in the Treatment-and-Prophylactic Department No. 1 with the Saratov City Children's Polyclinic No. 8 (Saratov, Russia) in May 2020 - Dec. 2021. A single-center retrospective cohort study was conducted. Inclusion criteria were the absence of chronic pathology, developmental anomalies, background conditions and congenital immunodeficiency conditions. The authors analyzed the volume of cases with acute diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract considering the most typical and the most frequent ones in children, such as: nasopharyngitis, tonsillopharyngitis, adenoiditis, acute bronchitis, and community-acquired pneumonia. Results: it was found that in children vaccinated against PI the decrease in the incidence of diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract was recorded compared to unvaccinated children, and the maximum effectiveness of vaccination is achieved with a full vaccination course (the two consecutive vaccinations followed by a single revaccination (V1, V2, and RV). Conclusions: 1) in children who received a full course of vaccination against PI, nasopharyngitis was statistically significantly less common (3.55 cases per 1 child per year) than in children who did not receive a full course of vaccination (6.64 cases per 1 child per year) (p<0.001); adenoiditis (no cases were registered vs. 0.86 cases per 1 child per year, p<0.001); tonsillopharyngitis (0.4 cases per 1 child per year vs. 1.89 cases per 1 child per year, p<0.001), no cases of community-acquired pneumonia were detected vs. 0.22 cases per 1 child per year in children who did not receive a full course of vaccination. 2) among children vaccinated twice with the PREVNAR 13® vaccine compared to the children not vaccinated against PI there was a statistically significantly lower number of cases of adenoiditis i.e., 0.74 vs. 0.86 cases per 1 child per year, p<0.001; tonsillopharyngitis (0.6 vs. 1.89 cases per child per year, p<0.001). 3) among children who received a single shot of vaccination against PI compared to unvaccinated children there was a statistically significantly lower number of cases of nasopharyngitis (5.28 vs. 6.64 cases per 1 child per year, p<0.001).