Selective: Vaccine and Lactating Women

Misbar has discovered that there is limited vaccine safety data available for women who are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). In a statement by the CDC last updated January 7, 2021: “There are no data on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in lactating women or on the effects of mRNA vaccines on the breastfed infant or on milk production/excretion. mRNA vaccines are not thought to be a risk to the breastfeeding infant. People who are breastfeeding and are part of a group recommended to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, such as healthcare personnel, may choose to be vaccinated.”

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACIP) in a statement last updated January 27, 2021, recommends that COVID-19 vaccines should be offered to lactating individuals similar to non-lactating individuals when they meet criteria for receipt of the vaccine based on prioritization groups outlined by the ACIP. They go on to say: “That said, there are no safety data specific to mRNA vaccine use in pregnant or lactating individuals and the potential risks to a pregnant individual and the fetus are unknown.” 

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, told USAToday.com that about 10,000 pregnant women in the U.S. have been vaccinated since the Food and Drug Administration authorized two vaccines, and so far there have been “no red flags.”

The World Health Organization has stated that since the vaccine is “biologically and clinically unlikely to pose a risk to the breastfeeding child,” those who are lactating should be offered their shots just like anyone else in a statement updated January 26, 2021. 

To conclude, those who are pregnant and lactating have not been included in clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccines, so there is no data on the vaccines’ safety for these groups. And while thousands of pregnant and lactating women have been vaccinated, it appears to be an individual choice based on a variety of risk factors until more data can be collected. According to statnews.com: “With no clinical trial data on the issue, it’s impossible for any organization or expert to say with absolute certainty that there are no risks.”