In a revealing research, it has found that breast milk of mothers who have been administered the COVID-19 vaccine contains significant amount of antibodies that could protect infants from coronavirus.
Making a strong case for pregnant or lactating women to get immunised, the study says that vaccines can protect both mothers and babies.
“Our findings show that vaccination results in a significant increase in antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in breast milk, suggesting that vaccinated mothers can pass on this immunity to their babies,” said senior study author Joseph Larkin, who is an associate professor at University of Florida.
The study, published in Breastfeeding Medicine journal, noted that when babies are born, their immune systems are underdeveloped which makes it difficult for them to fight infections on their own.
“During this vulnerable period, breast milk allows nursing mothers to provide infants with ‘passive immunity’,” said co-author of the study Josef Neu.
“Think of breast milk as a toolbox full of all the different tools that help prepare the infant for life. Vaccination adds another tool to the toolbox, one that has the potential to be especially good at preventing COVID-19 illness,” Neu explained.
The study, which was conducted between December 2020 and March 2021, saw 21 lactating healthcare workers — who hadn’t contracted COVID-19 — being recruited.
The mothers’ breast milk and blood were sampled thrice — before vaccination, after first dose and after second dose.
“We saw a robust antibody response in blood and breast milk after the second dose — about a hundred-fold increase compared with levels before vaccination,” said a doctoral student in Larkin’s lab.
“Typically, expectant mothers are vaccinated against whooping cough and flu because these can be serious illnesses for infants. Babies can also catch COVID-19, so routine vaccination of mothers against the virus could be something we see in the future,” he said.
The researchers are continuing their study on the matter.
“We would like to know if infants who consume breast milk containing these antibodies develop their own protection against COVID-19,” Larkin said.
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