Breast milk of mothers who have received COVID-19 vaccine contains disease-fighting antibodies – ScienceDaily

“Our results show that vaccination leads to a significant increase in antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – in breast milk, suggesting that vaccinated mothers can pass this immunity to their babies, which we’re doing. work to confirm in our ongoing research, ”said Joseph Larkin III, Ph.D., lead author of the study and associate professor in the UF / IFAS Department of Microbiology and Cell Science.

When babies are born, their immune systems are underdeveloped, making it difficult for them to fight infections on their own. They are also often too young to respond adequately to certain types of vaccines, said Josef Neu, MD, one of the study’s co-authors and professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UF College of Medicine, division. of neonatology.

During this vulnerable time, breast milk allows nursing mothers to provide infants with “passive immunity,” Neu explained.

“Think of breast milk as a toolbox filled with all the different tools that help prepare the infant for life. Immunization adds another tool to the toolbox, one that has the potential to be particularly effective for prevent COVID-19 disease, ”Neu said. “The results of our study strongly suggest that vaccines can help protect both mother and baby, another compelling reason for pregnant or breastfeeding women to get the vaccine.”

The study was conducted between December 2020 and March 2021, when the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines first became available to healthcare workers.

For the study, researchers recruited 21 breastfeeding healthcare workers who had never contracted COVID-19. The research team drew the mothers’ breast milk and blood three times: before vaccination, after the first dose, and after the second dose.

“We saw a strong antibody response in blood and breast milk after the second dose – about a hundred-fold increase over pre-vaccination levels,” said Lauren Stafford, a doctoral student at Larkin’s lab.

“These levels are also higher than those seen after natural infection with the virus,” said Vivian Valcarce, MD, resident in the Department of Pediatrics at UF College of Medicine, Division of Neonatology. Valcarce and Stafford share primary authorship of the study results.

Vaccinating mothers to protect babies is nothing new, Valcarce said.

“Typically, pregnant women are vaccinated against pertussis and influenza because they can be serious illnesses for infants. Babies can also catch COVID-19, so routine vaccination of mothers against the virus may be something we will see in the future, ”said Valcarce.

With that in mind, the research team continues to explore how breast milk containing COVID-19 antibodies obtained through vaccination protects babies who consume it.

“We would like to know if infants who consume breast milk containing these antibodies develop their own protection against COVID-19,” Larkin said. “In addition, we would also like to know more about the antibodies themselves, such as how long they are present in breast milk and how effective they are in neutralizing the virus.”

Neu said her lab is also keen to explore potential therapeutic uses for breast milk produced by vaccinated mothers.

Aside from the unanswered questions, the researchers remain enthusiastic and encouraged by their early results.

“We’re still learning so much about breast milk and all of its benefits, and that’s what makes this research so fascinating – not just for us scientists, but also for non-scientists,” said Stafford, who is pursuing studies in microbiology and cellular sciences at the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences UF / IFAS.

“We are also delighted to see many other concurrent studies conducted around the world that also show antibodies in breast milk of vaccinated mothers,” Neu said. “This means that our study validates a growing body of evidence.”

The study is published in the journal Breastfeeding medicine and was funded by the Children’s Miracle Network.