Much has been rumored about whether or not the COVID-19 vaccine affects fertility in both men and women. A new study adds to mounting evidence showing there is no link between getting the coronavirus vaccine and having a lower chance of conceiving a baby.
In contrast, couples in the study were slightly less likely to conceive if the man had been infected with coronavirus within 60 days, providing even more reason to get vaccinated against COVID-19, since the disease could affect women. short-term male fertility , according to the study published Thursday in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
The study included data from 2,126 women, ages 21 to 45, in the United States and Canada. The women were enrolled in the study from December 2020 to September 2021, and were followed up until November 2021. During the study, the women completed online questionnaires every eight weeks about their reproductive and medical history, among other factors , and they were given the option to invite their male partners to complete questionnaires as well. Among the participants, 73% of the women and 74% of their male partners had received at least one dose of the vaccine.
“These results indicate that male SARSCoV-2 infection may be associated with decreased fertility in the short term and that vaccination against COVID-19 does not impair the fertility of either partner.” , researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health and other US institutions wrote in the study.
“This adds to the evidence from animal studies, studies of humans undergoing fertility treatment, and COVID-19 vaccine trials, none of which found an association between COVID-19 vaccination and lower fertility ,” the researchers wrote. “Similarly, several studies have not documented any appreciable association between COVID-19 vaccination and miscarriage risk.”
The researchers analyzed the responses to the questionnaire and found no relationship between having been vaccinated and the probability of conceiving a child within one menstrual cycle. However, the data showed that while having been vaccinated was not strongly associated with the likelihood of conceiving among women, there was an association between male partners who had had COVID-19 and a “transient reduction” in chance of conceiving.
