Fertility not affected by COVID-19 vaccines, another ‘reassuring’ study finds

New research shows that the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines do not reduce the likelihood of getting pregnant, adding even more evidence against one of the most common myths cited by people who are hesitant or unwilling to get vaccinated.

This story was first published by The 19th News.

The research, published Tuesday in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology – one of the leading medical journals covering birth-related medicine – followed nearly 3,000 people undergoing in vitro fertilization.

The researchers identified nearly 440 people fully vaccinated against the virus with a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine who completed the in vitro treatment during the study period, which lasted from February to September 2021. About 1,740 completed the process of in vitro fertilization and were completely unvaccinated.

The findings were overwhelming. The study found that the vaccine had no impact on a patient’s ability to conceive or the health of the pregnancy, even after controlling for any variation in age or health between patients. While the study followed IVF patients, the authors said its results can be applied to anyone trying to get pregnant or who has recently become pregnant.

“This provides reassuring data for women who are specifically undergoing fertility treatment, but also for all patients who are trying to conceive or who are in early pregnancy,” said Dr Devora Aharon, reproductive endocrinologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and the study’s lead author. “COVID-19 vaccines should have no effect.”

Tracking patients through their IVF cycles adds additional detail and clarity for researchers.

“A big advantage of this type of study is that you can look at each individual step of the reproductive process, because everything with IVF is so closely monitored,” said Amelia Wesselink, an epidemiologist at Boston University, who doesn’t was not affiliated with the study but also studied the effects of vaccines on fertility.

The article builds on a growing body of research that shows that COVID-19 vaccines — specifically, messenger RNA vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna, which are the most widely used COVID injections in the United States — United – have no negative impact on her ability to get pregnant and give birth in good health. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which used a different immunization mechanism and which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says is not a preferred vaccine in the United States, was not included in the study.

“It’s a really good addition to what’s already known on this subject, and it’s really reassuring,” Wesselink said.

Data published in January of the CDC found no negative side effects in people who were already pregnant and vaccinated.

Another published study earlier this month, led by Wesselink, also suggested that a COVID-19 vaccine had no effect on fertility. This article also revealed that a COVID-19 infection can reduce sperm quality for about 60 days, making it temporarily more difficult to conceive.

Meanwhile, other evidence shows that unvaccinated pregnant women who contract COVID-19 are more likely to suffer serious complications and even require intensive hospital care, findings that could also affect pregnancy health.

“This only adds to the evidence we have that the vaccine is safe and protects patients against serious infections and harmful effects during pregnancy,” Aharon said.

None of the current research tracks the effect of a COVID-19 vaccine years later, as the vaccines themselves have only been widely available for less than a year. But based on the science of how vaccines work, side effects, on fertility or whatever, should probably have emerged by now.

“Any adverse effects or benefits from the vaccine should appear within the first two months,” Wesselink said. “It is extremely unlikely that anything will emerge beyond a few months after vaccination.”

Concerns about the potential impact of vaccines on fertility have abounded since vaccines first became available, persisting even as research establishes an increasingly clear picture that getting vaccinated poses no risk to fertility. ability to conceive. Query of last october showed that about 3 in 10 adults had heard that vaccines could harm fertility and either believed it to be true or were unsure. (For comparison, 3 in 10 is about the same number of adults who had either believed that ivermectin — a parasite pill with no proven benefits in fighting COVID-19 — was a safe treatment for the virus. , or were open to the idea. )

Studies like this could help address these fertility issues. But convincing unvaccinated people to get vaccinated remains an uphill battle.

Currently, approximately 67.4% of eligible people in the United States — anyone age 5 or older — are fully vaccinated against the virus. (The percentage of people who received a third “booster” vaccine remains much lower.) So far, the contagious variant of Omicron has not resulted in a noticeable increase in the number of unvaccinated people receiving vaccines.

survey of the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that unvaccinated people still say they are unlikely to get vaccinated. The vast majority identify as Republican, suggesting that political affiliation plays an important role in vaccine decision-making. But not all of the unvaccinated people withdrew for political reasons.

Regarding fertility, in particular, Wesselink pointed to a historic oversight among vaccine researchers. Typically, clinical trials do not initially collect data on pregnancy-related problems or side effects. For COVID-19 vaccines, she said, this oversight may have sown skepticism.

Initially, COVID-19 vaccines did not include pregnant women in their trials. The researchers also did not initially determine where the vaccines had implications for menstrual health. (Since, a study showed a small temporary effect on menstrual cycle length.)

Now, given the role that fertility-related health has played in some people’s decision not to get vaccinated, she hopes vaccine development will also pay more attention to these issues.

“It’s pretty well recognized that concerns about fertility, pregnancy, and menstrual health, all of those things really have an effect on people’s decision-making about vaccinations,” she said. “We need to focus on studying these outcomes for future vaccines and future health innovations and medicines, so that we can have fast, high-quality data that will give people what they need to do. informed choices.”