As the cases of Omicron continue to wreak havoc across the country, there are a lot of concerns about the health of children as they are not yet vaccinated. However, according to the research done by a leading university on breastfed infants, there is some hope. According to reports, women who breastfeed their infants pass on Covid 19 antibodies. This is a positive development, according to researchers, as it can protect infants against coronavirus by providing passive immunity.
Breastfeeding Babies Get Covid 19 Antibodies From Vaccinated Mothers
The researchers measured the immune response to the vaccine in the stools of breastfed infants and collaborated them with the immune response in breast milk. It was evident that SARS CoV 2 antibodies were found in stool samples of babies when mothers were vaccinated. This is a huge sign of relief for mothers as most of them are concerned about staying in hospitals due to the huge surge in Omicron infections across the country. Researchers believe that this should motivate other women who are not yet vaccinated, need to take the vaccine so that they can protect themselves and their infants from the virus.
The study on breastfed infants also concluded that the antibodies were found in newborn infants as well as those that were close to 2 years old. The study was conducted mostly on health workers who had infants, and most of the participants received the vaccines in the early part of this year. It is interesting to note that the breast milk samples were collected at several stages to analyze the presence of antibodies.
In the initial stages, the breast milk samples were collected a few weeks before the health workers received their first dose of vaccine. After that, the samples were collected between the first and second doses of the vaccine. Apart from the breast milk, even blood samples were collected in similar stages to analyze the presence of covid antibodies.
Similarly, the stool samples of infants were collected a few weeks after the mothers received their second dose of vaccine. It is interesting to note that the level of antibodies in infants increased when the mother had more side effects of the vaccine. When the mother was sick due to the side effects of the vaccine, the presence of antibodies was more in infants.
Researchers also mentioned that most of the study was done with the help of voluntary participants, and they did not receive any funding from agencies. Even though vaccine trials were not conducted on pregnant women, it has proved to be very effective for both the mother and infant. There were concerns about lactating mothers passing on the infection to the newborn babies in the early stages. However, the results of these studies bring in some hope as mothers can now stay safe with proper vaccination.
This will also protect the babies to a certain extent from the infection. In the last few weeks, several cases of infections have been seen in young children under the age of 5. Considering this situation, the study brings some hope for breastfeeding mothers about protecting infants from infection. It is important to improve the rate of vaccination among the general population to contain the spread of the virus.
The vaccination rate is still low in the US, as many people are still hesitant to take the vaccines. In the last few weeks, there has been a huge surge in new infections, and scientists believe that the peak of this wave has not yet reached. Many experts estimate that the peak may be seen in the next few months as the virus is spreading rapidly across the country.
