Thread by @BuzzFeedNews

Uncertainty about the vaccine has become the pandemic’s “second layer of chaos” for breast milk banks.

Now, a key question from donors and recipients is whether infants are protected against the coronavirus via the milk of vaccinated people.

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A main reason for the confusion is a lack of clinical study about the effect of the vaccines on pregnant or lactating people as they were left out of the vaccine trials, a standard for most clinical trials.

“It just feels like another [instance] in which women are just sort of forgotten,” one mother of two said.

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According to the CDC, there’s little to no information available about the safety and effects of the vaccines on the milk right now, but specific clinical trials are happening or planned.

And while larger long-term studies are needed, early research suggests the answer is yes.

“We found that, reassuringly, pregnant and lactating women made similar amounts of antibodies in response to the vaccination, so vaccination was effective,” Dr. Kathryn Gray, lead author of a recent joint study, told @BuzzFeedNews.

Erin Burgin, who received the Moderna vaccine, said she is currently breastfeeding her baby and gives her 3-year-old child a glass of breast milk each week as an immunity boost.

“… Breast milk is an easy way to give [protection] to your kid who can't get the vaccine yet.”

But the immunity benefits don’t last long after weaning, Stephanie Gaw, assistant professor at UC San Francisco, said.

The antibodies coat the baby’s mouth, throat, and digestive tract, keeping the virus from infecting the baby’s cells, but researchers don’t know for how long.

And while the new findings are reassuring, it shouldn’t change how milk banks pool their donations.

“We have always asked about vaccinations during our screening process, so this is just a new set of information for us to collect,” the director of Mothers’ Milk Bank said.

Experts are also reminding parents that since the milk is pooled from multiple people, it’s not possible to request milk from unvaccinated donors unless the recipient seeks it directly from an individual.

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