Someone Is Trying To Sell ‘COVID Vaccinated Breast Milk’ On Craigslist

Image: Anna Shvets via Unsplash

This website has had all manner of fun enjoying a good laugh over some crazy things we’ve seen posted on Craigslist over the years. But no post could be more bizarrely 2021 than this currently live SF Bay Craigslist post trying to sell you supposedly “COVID vaccinated breast milk” for $3.50 an ounce or $21 for a 6-ounce bag. The post claims the seller has “received both rounds of the Pfizer COVID vaccine” and has “an excess of milk production” from a recent childbirth, so they are monetizing their vaccination and lactation status by selling breast milk that is supposedly magically free of any disease transmission risks.

Screenshot: Craigslist

People — and especially people with newborns — do not feed your baby breast milk you bought off Craigslist. There are plenty of reputable organizations like Mothers’ Milk Bank and the Human Milk Banking Association of North America whose donated milk is pasteurized to prevent infections, and tested rigorously for HIV, leukemia-lymphoma, syphilis, Hep B and C, and other pathogens, toxins, or potentially transmissible risks before it’s made available to the general public. 

These organizations also offer free breast milk to mothers in need facing financial hardship. So you do not need to buy untested breast milk from some rando on Craigslist, regardless of your situation.

Screenshot: Craigslist

Certainly new mothers will have very fair questions about breastfeeding and coronavirus transmission risks, particularly in the early days of the virus when there are not many peer-reviewed studies on the topic. The Human Milk Banking Association of North America’s COVID-19 guidelines note that “Studies have documented complete heat inactivation of genetically similar viruses such as SARS and MERS, specifically heat treatment of 60°C for 30 minutes,” and that “All donor milk dispensed by HMBANA banks undergoes heat treatment using the Holder pasteurization method of 62.5°C for 30 minutes.” So that ought to ensure the milk is safe. 

They also conclude there is no evidence COVID-19 can be transmitted through breast milk. In studies conducted (thus far), they note that “No evidence of the virus was found in their samples of breastmilk, cord blood, amniotic fluid, or throat swabs of their newborns.” That’s not rock-solid conclusive, but it’s a whole lot more persuasive than New Age Hippie Chick on Craigslist.

Screenshot: Craigslist

But maybe this magical mystery COVID-beating milk will not be consumed by a baby. There are dudes with breast milk fetishes and bodybuilders with crackpot theories that women’s breast milk makes them more buff. (Because: men.) These guys will pay way more than $3.50 an ounce for your milk, so why not milk them (haha) for it while avoiding transmitting a number of possible infections to tiny infants with very fragile immune systems? 

Because if there’s any place in the world where you can sell breast milk for top dollar to sexually frustrated men or beefcake Instagram influencers, San Francisco is definitely that place. (Or you could just donate it?) But do what you feel you need to do, Vaccinated-Breast-Milk-Selling Mom … and we wish the very best to you and the little nipper!