The COVID-19 vaccine does not cause infertility, but the disease can cause infertility

Concerns that the COVID-19 vaccine may raise infertility This is one of the reasons people give to avoid vaccination. There is no evidence that any of the COVID-19 vaccines cause birth problems, but reproductive experts say that the disease can be serious, and vaccination is becoming more and more important.

“There is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infection can affect both. Childbirth of men, Female childbirth, and certainly Pregnancy health Dr. Jennifer Kawas, a reproductive endocrinologist and associate professor at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, said. “At the same time, there is no evidence that the vaccine has a negative effect on men or men. Childbirth of a woman.. “

Researchers have been studying the effects of COVID-19 on the human reproductive system since the beginning of the pandemic. There is no evidence that COVID-19 can be sexually transmitted, Research suggests Reproductive system cells are viable targets for the virus because they have some of the receptors that the coronavirus must bind to in order to enter the cell.

The idea that viruses can cause infertility is not unprecedented. “There is historical evidence that there are certain viruses that are likely to affect childbirth in men or women,” says Kawwass.

for example, Human papillomavirus (HPV), Hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV infection are all associated with reduced fertility. However, it is unclear whether respiratory viruses such as coronavirus can have the same effect. However, the fact that the male and female reproductive organs have receptors targeted by the COVID-19 virus is certainly plausible that the virus can cause birth problems, she said.

In addition, the symptoms of COVID-19 (mainly fever above 102 degrees Fahrenheit lasting for at least 3 days) are known to cause childbirth problems, especially in men.

According to recently review In a paper published in the journal Reproductive Biology, moderate to severe COVID-19 infection causes decreased sperm count, testicular inflammation, sperm duct inflammation, and testicular pain in men of reproductive age. Although not specifically considered a common complication of COVID-19, these effects are often associated with reduced childbirth, and scientists have suggested that COVID-19 can cause childbirth problems in men. Sufficient to hypothesize that there is, and further research in this area is needed.

Dr. Eve Feinberg, a reproductive endocrinologist and associate professor at Northwestern University, works daily with patients with fertility problems. She said she didn’t think the virus itself would directly lead to infertility, but after being infected with COVID-19, she noticed that some male patients were experiencing infertility due to low sperm counts. .. “But it’s premature and very difficult to determine if sperm counts were low before COVID infection,” she added.

When it comes to causing childbirth problems, it may be due to the symptoms of the disease, not the virus itself.

“Any infectious disease, especially infections with fever, can affect sperm production and affect ovulation,” said a reproductive endocologist and director of the Reproductive Health Center at the University of California, San Francisco. One Dr. Marcel Cedars said. There is no evidence that COVID is different, she said.

While most studies on COVID-19 and its effects on childbirth have focused on men, some studies on women have shown that neither the virus nor its symptoms have a significant effect on menstruation or the hormonal cycle. It seems.

NS analysis Of the 230 or more women of childbearing age, coronavirus infection changed sex hormone levels and changed the menstrual cycle, but the changes were found to be minor compared to the control group. The cycle of COVID-19 patients returned to normal within days or weeks after the infection was resolved and is unlikely to have affected childbirth.

But, at least in the eyes of fertility doctors, fertility treatment does not end with viable sperm and eggs. “When I think about giving birth, I think about what a couple could bring a healthy baby home,” Feinberg said. “And there is no doubt in my mind and the minds of scientists that vaccination is most likely to give birth to a healthy baby during this pandemic.”

Vaccines do not reduce childbirth or adversely affect reproduction, but there is very clear evidence of obtaining COVID while obtaining COVID. Pregnancy is very dangerousSaid Kawas. “Pregnant women with symptomatic COVID-19 have a 70% increased risk of death compared to non-pregnant women with COVID-19,” she said.

Latest data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention It is estimated that only 31 percent of pregnant women in the United States are vaccinated against COVID-19.

Low vaccination rates for pregnant women are a public health crisis, Feinberg said. Is it possible that fertility clinics will eventually be forced to limit or reject patients because unvaccinated pregnant women have significantly increased health risks compared to vaccinated pregnant women? I’m wondering.At this point, unvaccinated patients In vitro fertilization Treatment is not refused, but it may change if the situation does not improve.She says there are many unvaccinated pregnant patients with COVID-19 in the intensive care unit, and one of the unvaccinated COVID-19 patients Lost her baby While in ICU. “It was devastating and completely preventable.”

Doctors have long recommended vaccination with several vaccines, such as flu and chickenpox vaccines, if the person trying to get pregnant has not yet been vaccinated. Many illnesses can cause infertility, but no vaccine causes infertility problems.

And the evidence so far shows that the COVID-19 vaccine is no different from all other vaccines recommended by doctors for individuals considering pregnancy, Cedars said. Doctors aim to do everything they can to help patients think and prepare for a healthy pregnancy, she said, and the COVID-19 vaccine is “only part of it.” ..

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