A top Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official said on May 15 that she never took a COVID-19 vaccine due to concerns about biodistribution.
Dr. Sara Brenner, the FDA’s principal deputy commissioner, said during an event in Washington that she did not receive any of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Brenner said that she was pregnant during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was unknown at the time what the biodistribution patterns of those products were, and in my case, in particular, what the excretion would be in breast milk,” Brenner said. “That was my primary concern, and that exposure I was very concerned about.”
When asked whether the information that has emerged since then validates her choice, Brenner, who said she was not speaking on behalf of the FDA, said she thinks it does.
Researchers reported in a 2022 paper that messenger ribonucleic acid, which is in the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 shots, was detected in human breast milk. Another paper, in 2023, detailed similar findings.
Pfizer and Moderna did not return requests for comment.
Dr. Marty Makary, the FDA’s commissioner, has been critical of COVID-19 vaccine boosters. He has indicated that he received a primary series of one of the vaccines.
