In 2021, stories began circulating on social media of infants becoming adversely affected, and in some cases dying, after consuming breast milk from mothers who had recently received the COVID-19 vaccine.
Some of the events were highlighted on VAERS and included detailed descriptions, though it should be noted that what's listed on the reporting system does not mean it has been confirmed by medical professionals. Nevertheless, the question of whether the vaccines could pass through breast milk and affect infants was raised.
Fact-checkers like Snopes looked into the claims and could not make a rating one way or the other. Pointing to a "small study," Reuters came out with a piece in July of that year declaring "no traces of mRNA vaccines end up in mothers' breast milk." But Reuters wasn't the authority on this, of course. Pregnant and nursing women continued to be pressured into taking the vaccine by the likes of the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and their own healthcare providers, despite a dearth of quality and long-term studies.
How it started. How it’s going. pic.twitter.com/JTfkOcIvEI
— Dr. Michael Verbora (@mverbora) September 27, 2022
Now, another small study suggests the opposite is true—that "trace quantities" are detected in breast milk, though the authors go on to say they believe "breastfeeding after COVID-19 mRNA vaccination is safe, particularly beyond 48 hours after vaccination."
In a discussion about the study's limitations, however, red flags are raised, especially given that infants feed every two to three hours during the first few weeks of life and about every four hours as they get closer to six months of age.
"[W]e did not test the possible cumulative vaccine mRNA exposure after frequent breastfeeding in infants. We believe it is safe to breastfeed after maternal COVID-19 vaccination. However, caution is warranted about breastfeeding children younger than 6 months in the first 48 hours after maternal vaccination until more safety studies are conducted. In addition, the potential interference of COVID-19 vaccine mRNA with the immune response to multiple routine vaccines given to infants during the first 6 months of age needs to be considered."
The results led Congressman Thomas Massie to wonder whether "the abuse of power [could] get any more evil."
Now we find out that Biden’s vaccine mandates caused infants (for which no safe dose has been established) to receive mRNA through their mother’s breast milk. Does abuse of power get any more evil?https://t.co/9v6lz2G37Z pic.twitter.com/lmiOvupBPS
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) September 27, 2022