Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines developed in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic elicit strong immune responses and provide protection against the virus. But how vaccination-induced protection compares with immunization remains unclear, especially in regard to parental antibodies in human milk.
Now, researchers report that antibodies in human breast milk from vaccinated women were dominantly IgG, the smallest but most common type of antibody. In contrast, antibodies against COVID-19 in breast milk from women infected with SARS-CoV-2 were mostly IgA, which typically reside in the nose, respiratory tract, and other mucosal areas. Although the antibodies differed, both types neutralized the virus, suggesting that breast milk likely provides some degree of protection to infants.
Kirsi Jarvinen-Seppo, a pediatric allergist-immunologist, and Bridget Young, a human milk scientist, both at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, knew from previous research that the SARS-CoV-2 virus does not pass from mother to infant ...
