It’s been a persistent myth sailing around the internet. Now a large National Institutes of Health-funded study shows what doctors have been saying for more than a year is gospel.
A COVID-19 vaccination does not affect fertility.
The research was led by a Boston University scientist and involved more than 2,000 couples. As part of their work, scientists crunched data from the Pregnancy Study Online, a study of U.S. and Canadian couples trying to conceive a child without fertility treatments.
Participants were quizzed on their income, education and medical histories. That included whether they had been vaccinated against COVID-19 and if they had ever tested positive for the coronavirus.
So how did the vaccinations affect fertility? Not at all. The data show no major difference in the rate of conception per menstrual cycle between those who got a vaccination and a control group that didn’t.
There was one notable exception, however. The odds of conception dipped slightly if the male partner had been infected with the coronavirus in the two months prior to a menstrual cycle. Researchers say fever, whatever the cause, can reduce fertility temporarily, reducing sperm count and diminishing their ability to swim.
It’s worth noting that scientists also say it is believed that COVID-19 infection can lead to erectile dysfunction. That might be related to an inflammation of the testes and nearby tissues.
As an added bonus, the study’s authors note, vaccination will help avoid any risk of COVID-19 infection for both the mother and her fetus.
Scientists hope this is one myth they can put to bed.