Can Breastfeeding Mothers Take Covid-19 Vaccine?
New Delhi: Amid ongoing debate and widespread skepticism about if the vaccine is safe for lactating mothers, Dr Samiran Panda, Head, Division of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases, Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) said that breastfeeding mothers must get themselves vaccinated against COVID-19, without any hesitation as the antibodies that are developed in the mother get passively transferred to the baby while breastfeeding and could be helpful to the child.Also Read - Covaxin: Phase 3 Trial of Coronavirus Vaccine Begins at SUM Hospital in Odisha  The vaccines available now are largely effective against the new variants of COVID19 Also Read - Nipah virus: Situation now not alarming, says Ker Govt  Many people are concerned whether our vaccines will be effective against the newer strains of SARS-CoV-2 virus. According to Dr. Panda, the vaccines available now largely are effective against the new variants. He further explained that vaccines are not infection preventing, but disease-modifying. Experiments at ICMR have proved that the vaccines presently available in India are effective against the new variants as well. However, the efficacy may differ for different strains. Also Read - Nipah virus: Situation now not alarming, says Ker Govt  People are also wary that the vaccines that they are receiving now may not be effective after a while, as the virus is mutating rapidly. However, Dr. Panda pointed out that mutation is normal for all viruses when they proliferate. Experts suggest that the COVID-19 virus will reach its endemic stage like Influenza after a while and then vulnerable population may have to take the vaccine shot annually. Dr. Panda explained Influenza commonly known as flu was a pandemic 100 years ago but today it is endemic. Similarly, in case of COVID-19, we expect that it will gradually become endemic from its current state of being a pandemic. Currently, we recommend the elderly to take annual flu shots. As the influenza virus keeps on mutating, we simultaneously make minor changes in the vaccine. So, there is no need to panic, he added. It is futile to go for anti-body tests: Dr. Samiran Panda  Dr. Samiran Panda further stated that it is futile to go for anti-body tests as immunity does not depend only on anti-bodies. He added,The anti-bodies that are seen using the commercial kits available in the market are not necessarily the anti-bodies that can protect from COVID disease. Whenever a person gets vaccinated, two types of immunity emerge. One is known as neutralizing anti-body or anti-body mediated immunity. Second one is cell mediated immunity. The third and the most important one is immune memory. Immune memory is generated after vaccination and is present in cells and whenever the virus enters the body, this gets activated, he said.