Highlights
- Vaccines can help protect both mother and baby: Study
- Vaccination results in a significant increase in antibodies: Study
- Vaccinated mothers can pass on this immunity to their babies: Study
Washington: The breast milk of nursing mothers who have received the COVID-19 vaccine contains a significant supply of antibodies that may help protect nursing infants from the illness, according to a study. The research, published in the journal Breastfeeding Medicine, strongly suggests that vaccines can help protect both mother and baby, another compelling reason for pregnant or nursing women to get immunised. “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 Joseph Larkin, a senior study author, and an associate professor at the University of Florida, US.
Also Read: Three Dose COVID-19 Vaccine For Children Aged 12-17 Will Be Rolled Out In October: Expert Panel Chief
The researchers noted that when babies are born, their immune systems are underdeveloped, making it hard for them to fight infections on their own.
They are also often too young to respond adequately to certain types of vaccines, they said.
“During this vulnerable period, breast milk allows nursing mothers to provide infants with ‘passive immunity’,” said Josef Neu, study’s co-author and a professor at the University of Florida.
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, Mr Neu explained.
The study was conducted between December 2020 and March 2021, when the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines first became available to health care workers in the US.
The researchers recruited 21 nursing health care workers who had never contracted COVID-19.
Also Read: Sugars From Human Milk Could Help Treat, Prevent Infections In Newborns: Study
They sampled the mothers’ breast milk and blood three times: before vaccination, after the first dose and after the 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 Lauren Stafford, a doctoral student in Mr Larkin’s lab.
“These levels are also higher than those observed after natural infection with the virus,” added Vivian Valcarce, from the University of Florida.
Vaccinating mothers to protect babies is nothing new, Valcarce said.
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 team is continuing to explore how breast milk containing COVID-19 antibodies gained 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, Mr Larkin said.
The researchers said many other simultaneous studies conducted around the world also show antibodies in the breastmilk of vaccinated mothers.
That means our study validates a growing body of evidence, Mr Neu added.
Also Read: “Nutritional Needs Of A Woman Are Higher While Breastfeeding”, Says Expert With Emphasis On A Balanced Diet
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.
World
21,64,07,166Cases
17,99,82,785Active
3,19,23,405Recovered
45,00,976Deaths
Coronavirus has spread to 195 countries. The total confirmed cases worldwide are 21,64,07,166 and 45,00,976 have died; 17,99,82,785 are active cases and 3,19,23,405 have recovered as on August 30, 2021 at 4:13 am.
India
3,27,37,939 42,909Cases
3,76,324 7,766Active
3,19,23,405 34,763Recovered
4,38,210 380Deaths
In India, there are 3,27,37,939 confirmed cases including 4,38,210 deaths. The number of active cases is 3,76,324 and 3,19,23,405 have recovered as on August 30, 2021 at 2:30 am.
State Details
State | Cases | Active | Recovered | Deaths |
---|---|---|---|---|
Maharashtra |
64,56,939 4,666 |
56,366 1,025 |
62,63,416 3,510 |
1,37,157 131 |
Kerala |
40,07,408 29,836 |
2,13,113 7,673 |
37,73,754 22,088 |
20,541 75 |
Karnataka |
29,47,255 1,262 |
18,784 139 |
28,91,193 1,384 |
37,278 17 |
Tamil Nadu |
26,11,837 1,538 |
17,322 237 |
25,59,637 1,753 |
34,878 22 |
Andhra Pradesh |
20,12,123 1,557 |
15,179 326 |
19,83,119 1,213 |
13,825 18 |
Uttar Pradesh |
17,09,248 14 |
265 34 |
16,86,165 37 |
22,818 11 |
West Bengal |
15,47,548 650 |
9,070 39 |
15,20,055 683 |
18,423 6 |
Delhi |
14,37,716 31 |
392 1 |
14,12,244 32 |
25,080 |
Odisha |
10,06,503 849 |
7,039 54 |
9,91,630 834 |
7,834 69 |
Chhattisgarh |
10,04,398 19 |
480 30 |
9,90,363 49 |
13,555 |
Rajasthan |
9,54,086 7 |
123 7 |
9,45,009 |
8,954 |
Gujarat |
8,25,398 12 |
151 0 |
8,15,166 12 |
10,081 |
Madhya Pradesh |
7,92,155 12 |
80 1 |
7,81,559 11 |
10,516 |
Haryana |
7,70,456 11 |
646 11 |
7,60,136 21 |
9,674 1 |
Bihar |
7,25,694 11 |
113 1 |
7,15,928 10 |
9,653 |
Telangana |
6,57,376 257 |
5,912 153 |
6,47,594 409 |
3,870 1 |
Punjab |
6,00,551 37 |
392 13 |
5,83,790 47 |
16,369 3 |
Assam |
5,88,318 293 |
7,049 385 |
5,75,629 674 |
5,640 4 |
Jharkhand |
3,47,842 13 |
144 2 |
3,42,566 11 |
5,132 |
Uttarakhand |
3,42,910 16 |
335 9 |
3,35,195 7 |
7,380 |
Jammu And Kashmir |
3,25,148 169 |
1,276 65 |
3,19,465 103 |
4,407 1 |
Himachal Pradesh |
2,13,245 123 |
1,750 64 |
2,07,903 186 |
3,592 1 |
Goa |
1,73,791 74 |
945 7 |
1,69,651 79 |
3,195 2 |
Puducherry |
1,23,394 96 |
692 6 |
1,20,890 100 |
1,812 2 |
Manipur |
1,13,328 387 |
3,388 36 |
1,08,161 419 |
1,779 4 |
Tripura |
82,849 74 |
1,028 0 |
81,023 73 |
798 1 |
Meghalaya |
75,601 265 |
2,636 74 |
71,659 332 |
1,306 7 |
Chandigarh |
65,093 6 |
38 0 |
64,242 6 |
813 |
Mizoram |
57,962 440 |
8,510 168 |
49,239 271 |
213 1 |
Arunachal Pradesh |
52,870 39 |
966 97 |
51,644 136 |
260 |
Nagaland |
29,972 52 |
806 22 |
28,549 71 |
617 3 |
Sikkim |
29,809 80 |
1,222 111 |
28,218 191 |
369 |
Ladakh |
20,551 7 |
71 1 |
20,273 8 |
207 |
Dadra And Nagar Haveli |
10,663 |
6 0 |
10,653 |
4 |
Lakshadweep |
10,338 2 |
30 1 |
10,257 1 |
51 |
Andaman And Nicobar Islands |
7,564 4 |
5 2 |
7,430 2 |
129 |