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)

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.