tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Open Forum Infect Dis
. 2022 May 11;9(6)
fac239.
doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofac239. eCollection 2022 Jun.
Quantification and Progress Over Time of Specific Antibodies Against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Breast Milk of Lactating Women Vaccinated With BNT162b2 Pfizer-BioNTech Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccine (LacCOVID)
Erika Esteve-Palau[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Araceli Gonzalez-Cuevas[SUP] 2 [/SUP], M Eugenia Guerrero[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Clara Garcia-Terol[SUP] 3 [/SUP], M Carmen Alvarez[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Geneva Garcia[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Encarna Moreno[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Francisco Medina[SUP] 1 [/SUP], David Casadevall[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Vicens Diaz-Brito[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: Several observational studies demonstrated the passage of postvaccine antibodies through breast milk in women vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), mostly with messenger RNA (mRNA)-based vaccines, but lacked long-term data.
Methods: A 6-month prospective cohort study was performed to determine severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine-induced antibody levels in the breast milk of 33 lactating healthcare workers at different timepoints after mRNA BNT162b2 Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination. Moreover, we examined the correlation of SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels between serum and breast milk, adverse events related to vaccination, and rate of SARS-CoV-2 infections.
Results: Mothers' median age was 38 (interquartile range [IQR], 36-39) years and 15 (IQR, 10-22) months for infants. Median (IQR) SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G (IgG) spike protein subunit S1 (S1) vaccine-induced levels at different timepoints for serum-milk pairs were 519 (234-937) to 1 (0-2.9) arbitrary units (AU)/mL at 2 weeks after first dose and 18 644 (9923-29 264) to 78 (33.7-128), 12 478 (6870-20 801) to 50.4 (24.3-104), 4094 (2413-8480) to 19.9 (10.8-51.9), 1350 (831-2298) to 8.9 (7.8-31.5) AU/mL at 2, 4, 12 and 24 weeks after second dose, respectively. We observed a positive correlation of antibody levels between serum and breast milk, no serious adverse events related to vaccination, and 2 (6%) COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough infections.
Conclusions: Women vaccinated with Pfizer-BioNTech transmit antibodies into breast milk with a positive correlation with serum levels. Both decreased over time in a 6-month follow-up.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; breastfeeding; mRNA-based vaccination; passive immunity.
. 2022 May 11;9(6)
fac239.doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofac239. eCollection 2022 Jun.
Quantification and Progress Over Time of Specific Antibodies Against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Breast Milk of Lactating Women Vaccinated With BNT162b2 Pfizer-BioNTech Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccine (LacCOVID)
Erika Esteve-Palau[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Araceli Gonzalez-Cuevas[SUP] 2 [/SUP], M Eugenia Guerrero[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Clara Garcia-Terol[SUP] 3 [/SUP], M Carmen Alvarez[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Geneva Garcia[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Encarna Moreno[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Francisco Medina[SUP] 1 [/SUP], David Casadevall[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Vicens Diaz-Brito[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 35783685
- PMCID: PMC9129184
- DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofac239
Abstract
Background: Several observational studies demonstrated the passage of postvaccine antibodies through breast milk in women vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), mostly with messenger RNA (mRNA)-based vaccines, but lacked long-term data.
Methods: A 6-month prospective cohort study was performed to determine severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine-induced antibody levels in the breast milk of 33 lactating healthcare workers at different timepoints after mRNA BNT162b2 Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination. Moreover, we examined the correlation of SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels between serum and breast milk, adverse events related to vaccination, and rate of SARS-CoV-2 infections.
Results: Mothers' median age was 38 (interquartile range [IQR], 36-39) years and 15 (IQR, 10-22) months for infants. Median (IQR) SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G (IgG) spike protein subunit S1 (S1) vaccine-induced levels at different timepoints for serum-milk pairs were 519 (234-937) to 1 (0-2.9) arbitrary units (AU)/mL at 2 weeks after first dose and 18 644 (9923-29 264) to 78 (33.7-128), 12 478 (6870-20 801) to 50.4 (24.3-104), 4094 (2413-8480) to 19.9 (10.8-51.9), 1350 (831-2298) to 8.9 (7.8-31.5) AU/mL at 2, 4, 12 and 24 weeks after second dose, respectively. We observed a positive correlation of antibody levels between serum and breast milk, no serious adverse events related to vaccination, and 2 (6%) COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough infections.
Conclusions: Women vaccinated with Pfizer-BioNTech transmit antibodies into breast milk with a positive correlation with serum levels. Both decreased over time in a 6-month follow-up.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; breastfeeding; mRNA-based vaccination; passive immunity.