A study by LactApp and the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA), belonging to the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), has concluded that the breast milk of women vaccinated against the coronavirus contains antibodies against Covid-19.
While antibody levels vary depending on the vaccine received, all three vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca) have been shown to generate antibodies that pass into breast milk. As reported by those responsible, we are talking about the first study of this type in Spain and the first worldwide to compare the effects of three vaccines on breast milk.
In order to reach these conclusions, the presence of antibodies against SARS-Cov-2 was analyzed in 75 lactating women vaccinated with different types of vaccines: 30 with a complete Pfizer vaccination , 21 with a complete Moderna regimen, and 24 with the first one. AstraZeneca dosage.
In all cases there was a response to vaccination with an increase in antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, much more intense after the second dose. Some of the women who were vaccinated had passed the Covid-19, and, after the first dose of vaccine , their milk had levels of antibodies equivalent to healthy women with the two doses.
It has also been observed that the maximum levels of antibodies in breast milk are reached between 7 and 14 days after completing the complete vaccination schedule , maintaining these levels later and coinciding with the data reported by official sources.
The immunity that the baby receives through breast milk is passive. That is, it does not provide the same protection against Covid-19 as that of a vaccinated person and the baby is not expected to generate its own global immune response.
It has also been seen that the immunoglobulins present in milk help the baby not to become infected in the event that the Covid-19 virus is detected in the respiratory and intestinal tract, although in these parameters more studies are needed to know exactly the immune capacity that is transferred through breast milk.
The study that gives an answer to the fact that the breast milk of women vaccinated against the coronavirus contains antibodies against Covid-19 is part of the MilkCorona initiative, in which hospitals in the cities of Barcelona participate (Hospital Sant Joan de Déu and Hospital Clinic), Granada (Hospital San Cecilio) València (Hospital Universitario Doctor Peset and Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe) and Zaragoza (Hospital Clínico Universitario Lozano Blesa), as well as several universities (Barcelona, Jaume I de Castellón and Granada), together with LactApp.
