I don’t think mRNA would be dangerous to children although the spike protein that it encodes could be. It’s more about the debate over whether the vaccine can be transmitted in the breast milk that has people concerned. This article doesn’t suggest there is much chance of the child getting significant exposure to the mRNA through the breast milk but I am actually surprised there are even picogram quantities!
William, that is correct. The limit of detection was 1pg/ml, so if there were femtogram quantities present or less, this would be below what the assay can detect.
How does this compare to the amount of alcohol, for example, that might be in breast milk if a woman has three glasses of wine? Or, capsicum if the woman eats spicy food?
The general consensus is that about 2% of the alcohol a breastfeeding woman consumes can be found in the breast milk. Alcohol is cleared from the system much more quickly than 48 hours, though. But the RNA is more susceptible to degradation in the digestive tract. There was a study looking at piperidine in breast milk (spicy molecule found in curry) that found about 10-60micrograms per liter, which would be 10-60 nanograms per ml--about 1000 times more than was observed here. The assay for measuring it is different, though, since it is a small molecule not RNA or DNA, RT-PCR is going to be more sensitive and can detect smaller quantities. I don't think capsaicin levels have been measured in breast milk--only reports of rashes that were attributed to consumption of spicy peppers by the mother.
You had me at “breast”… interesting article, I was not aware that mRNA was actually considered dangerous to children.
I don’t think mRNA would be dangerous to children although the spike protein that it encodes could be. It’s more about the debate over whether the vaccine can be transmitted in the breast milk that has people concerned. This article doesn’t suggest there is much chance of the child getting significant exposure to the mRNA through the breast milk but I am actually surprised there are even picogram quantities!
What's in breastmilk?
https://rayhorvaththesource.substack.com/p/whats-in-mothers-milk
mRNA is quite unlikely to be used in public:
https://rayhorvaththesource.substack.com/p/mrna
Thanks for breaking this down. Informative and interesting! Looking forward to your piece next week!
Did I read it correctly it can’t be found 48 hours after vaccination? At all?
William, that is correct. The limit of detection was 1pg/ml, so if there were femtogram quantities present or less, this would be below what the assay can detect.
How does this compare to the amount of alcohol, for example, that might be in breast milk if a woman has three glasses of wine? Or, capsicum if the woman eats spicy food?
The general consensus is that about 2% of the alcohol a breastfeeding woman consumes can be found in the breast milk. Alcohol is cleared from the system much more quickly than 48 hours, though. But the RNA is more susceptible to degradation in the digestive tract. There was a study looking at piperidine in breast milk (spicy molecule found in curry) that found about 10-60micrograms per liter, which would be 10-60 nanograms per ml--about 1000 times more than was observed here. The assay for measuring it is different, though, since it is a small molecule not RNA or DNA, RT-PCR is going to be more sensitive and can detect smaller quantities. I don't think capsaicin levels have been measured in breast milk--only reports of rashes that were attributed to consumption of spicy peppers by the mother.
Wonderful as always, Katie! I hadn't thought of this angle, but of course it's a very important one.
Thanks for posting this!