The breast milk of lactating mothers vaccinated against COVID-19 contains a significant supply of antibodies that may help protect breastfeeding infants from the illness, according to new research.

“Our findings show that vaccination results in a significant increase in antibodies against SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19—in breast milk, suggesting that vaccinated mothers can pass on this immunity to their babies, something we are working to confirm in our ongoing research,” says senior author Joseph Larkin III, an associate professor at the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences department of microbiology and cell science.

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.

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, says coauthor Josef Neu, a professor in the College of Medicine’s pediatrics department in the division of neonatology.

During this vulnerable period, breast milk allows nursing mothers to provide infants with “passive immunity,” Neu says. “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.”

Read the full article about COVID-19 immunity by Samantha Murray at Futurity.