Checking fakes in partnership with Facebook
Information that the CDC recommends that mothers stop breastfeeding to enhance vaccine efficacy is being spread on the Internet.
However, it is not true.
This fake came from the English-language segment of Facebook and has already been refuted by the independent fact-checkers from Snopes.
The fake came from a misinterpretation of a 2010 study of the effects of breast milk on the rotavirus vaccine. The substances contained in breast milk neutralize antigens that would elicit an immune response. So, vaccination against rotavirus during breastfeeding did not lead to the development of immunity (immunoglobulins A neutralized the vaccine’s antigens). Therefore, rotavirus vaccination in breast-fed infants would be ineffective.
Moreover, the study looked into the effects of breastfeeding on the rotavirus vaccine only. It did not recommend that breastfeeding be discontinued to enhance the efficacy of vaccines.
The CDC’s recommendations are not about a cessation of breastfeeding to increase vaccine efficacy. To the contrary, the CDC encourages mothers to breastfeed, unless otherwise advised by the doctor.
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