Antibodies Transferred to Baby Through Breast Milk... "Adding One More Tool Needed for COVID Prevention"
[Asia Economy Senior Reporter Jinsoo Lee] It has been confirmed that the breast milk of mothers who have completed COVID-19 vaccination contains antibodies.
Researchers at the University of Florida announced on the 20th (local time) in an online paper published in the mother and child health specialized journal Breastfeeding Medicine that antibodies are transmitted to infants through the breast milk of mothers who have completed the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The breast milk of vaccinated mothers contains a significant level of antibodies, which is presumed to protect nursing infants from COVID-19.
The immune system of newborns is relatively vulnerable. This means they have difficulty protecting themselves from various infectious diseases. Moreover, newborns often do not respond adequately to certain types of vaccines. During this vulnerable period, newborns heavily rely on their mother’s breast milk, which contains the necessary defense mechanisms to prevent a series of diseases.
Joseph Larkin, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Cell Science at the University of Florida and a co-author of the paper, said, "Vaccination greatly increases the antibodies in breast milk," adding, "Mothers who have completed the second dose seem to transfer immunity to their babies through breastfeeding."
Joseph New, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Florida College of Medicine and a co-author of the paper, described breast milk as "a toolbox full of all the tools an infant needs to prepare for life," explaining, "The vaccine adds one more tool necessary for COVID-19 prevention." Therefore, pregnant or nursing women should hurry to get vaccinated.
This study was conducted from December 2020 to March 2021, when U.S. medical staff first began receiving the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The researchers recruited 21 nursing mothers who had never been infected with COVID-19 among healthcare workers. They then tested the breast milk and blood of these women once before vaccination, once after the first dose, and once after the second dose.
As a result, they found a vigorous antibody response in both blood and breast milk after the second dose. Compared to before vaccination, the antibody levels increased by 100 times. This is a higher level than observed after natural infection.
According to the paper, mothers who completed the second dose of the vaccine appear to transfer 100 times more antiviral proteins to their babies through breastfeeding than those who did not. The researchers also confirmed that antibodies directly generated by the vaccine are transmitted to infants through breast milk.
The research team is continuing to observe how breast milk containing vaccine-induced antibodies protects nursing infants.
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