A study from the Boston University School of Public Health (United States) has concluded that vaccination against COVID-19 does not harm fertility in either partner, but, nevertheless, men who infected with the coronavirus may experience reduced fertility in the short term.
Published in the scientific journal American Journal of Epidemiology, this research in couples trying to conceive a child found no relationship between vaccination against COVID-19 and fertility (the probability of conception per menstrual cycle) in couples who received the vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Janssen.
Rather, the results indicate that COVID-19 infection among men may temporarily reduce fertility, an outcome that could be prevented by vaccination.
“Many people of reproductive age have cited concerns about fertility as a reason for not getting vaccinated. Our study shows for the first time that COVID-19 vaccination in either partner is not related to inter-partner fertility.” couples trying to conceive through intercourse. Time to pregnancy was very similar regardless of vaccination status,” explains study lead author Dr. Amelia Wesselink.
These American researchers analyzed data from a survey of women trying to conceive and follow them from preconception to six months after delivery. Participants included 2,126 women from the United States and Canada who provided information on sociodemographics, lifestyle, medical factors, and characteristics of their partners from December 2020 to September 2021, and the participants were followed in the study until November 2021.
The researchers calculated the probability of conception per menstrual cycle using participants’ self-reported dates of last menstrual period, typical menstrual cycle length, and pregnancy status .
Fertility rates among participants who received at least one dose of a vaccine were nearly identical to unvaccinated participants. Fertility was also similar for male partners who had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine compared to unvaccinated male participants.
Additional analyzes that considered number of vaccine doses, vaccine brand, history of infertility, occupation, and geographic region also indicated no effect of vaccination on fertility.
While COVID-19 infection was not strongly associated with fertility, men who tested positive for COVID-19 within 60 days of a given cycle had reduced fertility compared with men who never tested positive , or men who tested positive at least 60 days prior. These data support previous research that has linked COVID-19 infection in men to poor sperm quality and other reproductive dysfunction.
“These data provide reassuring evidence that COVID-19 vaccination of either partner does not affect fertility among couples trying to conceive. The study’s prospective design, large sample size, and geographic heterogeneity of the population studied are the strengths of the study, as well as our control of many variables such as age, socioeconomic level, pre-existing health conditions, occupation and stress levels”, affirms another of those responsible for the investigation, Lauren Wise.
