5 research outputs found
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Tracing Johnson's Circle: Practical Experiments With EAC-CPF
Interested in collaboratively exploring the potential of EAC-CPF, the Beinecke Library at Yale and the Houghton Library at Harvard embarked
on a year-long project to gain experience with the new standard and, in the process, strengthen connections between disparate but deep holdings of lexicographer Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) and his circle. The project team set out to document metadata best practices while developing and maintaining one set of records and to discover the practical limits and possibilities of rich content within the EAC-CPF context. This article outlines the project’s challenges, lessons learned, and remaining questions.Other Research Uni
Biodistribution of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in human breast milkResearch in context
Summary: Background: COVID-19 mRNA vaccines play a vital role in the fight against SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, lactating women have been largely excluded from most vaccine clinical trials. As a result, limited research has been conducted on the systemic distribution of vaccine mRNA during lactation and whether it is excreted in human breast milk (BM). Here, we evaluated if COVID-19 vaccine mRNA is detectable in BM after maternal vaccination and determined its potential translational activity. Methods: We collected BM samples from 13 lactating, healthy, post-partum women before and after COVID-19 mRNA vaccination. Vaccine mRNA in whole BM and BM extracellular vesicles (EVs) was assayed using quantitative Droplet Digital PCR, and its integrity and translational activity were evaluated. Findings: Of 13 lactating women receiving the vaccine (20 exposures), trace mRNA amounts were detected in 10 exposures up to 45 h post-vaccination. The mRNA was concentrated in the BM EVs; however, these EVs neither expressed SARS-COV-2 spike protein nor induced its expression in the HT-29 cell line. Linkage analysis suggests vaccine mRNA integrity was reduced to 12–25% in BM. Interpretation: Our findings demonstrate that the COVID-19 vaccine mRNA is not confined to the injection site but spreads systemically and is packaged into BM EVs. However, as only trace quantities are present and a clear translational activity is absent, we believe breastfeeding post-vaccination is safe, especially 48 h after vaccination. Nevertheless, since the minimum mRNA vaccine dose to elicit an immune reaction in infants <6 months is unknown, a dialogue between a breastfeeding mother and her healthcare provider should address the benefit/risk considerations of breastfeeding in the first two days after maternal vaccination. Funding: This study was supported by the Department of Pediatrics, NYU-Grossman Long Island School of Medicine