Vaccinations are injections that help protect our bodies from contracting harmful diseases. There are a variety of vaccinations that a doctor can administer from when you’re a baby all the way through your teenage years. The most common vaccines can fight against the flu, chicken pox, measles, and hepatitis. But in 2020, a new vaccination was developed to help reduce the risk of contracting a disease that caused a pandemic.
Just like any medication, a vaccine can have potential side effects. Many people have been concerned with the short- and long-term effects of the COVID-19 vaccine, which fights against the coronavirus disease. While some people have tried to say that the COVID vaccine can cause infertility, there is evidence disproving that claim.
Read on to learn about the COVID vaccine and the effects that both the vaccination and disease can have on infertility.
What is the COVID-19 vaccine?
The coronavirus, or COVID-19, is an infectious disease caused by the spread of a virus called SARS-CoV-2. Since being discovered in December of 2019, more than 700 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed around the world, including more than 6 million deaths.
Starting in December of 2020, vaccinations were made available to the public to reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19. While it doesn’t completely eliminate the chance of getting the virus, it can help decrease the severity of the symptoms if it is contracted.
People are able to get a set of two primary COVID-19 vaccines, as well as additional boosters to increase the effectiveness. More than 13 billion vaccine doses have been given around the world.
Does the COVID-19 vaccine cause infertility?
To put it plainly: no. The COVID-19 vaccine doesn’t cause infertility. Not only is there a lack of evidence that the vaccination causes fertility issues, there was a study done on more than 2,000 couples in the U.S. and Canada who received at least one dose of the vaccine while trying to conceive. There was no evidence that the couples were struggling to conceive after getting the vaccination.
Even though the COVID-19 vaccine doesn’t cause infertility, it may still result in some other side effects. After getting injected with the COVID-19 vaccine, it’s possible that you can experience relatively mild symptoms that fade after just a couple of days. But it can vary from person to person.
For people over the age of 18, COVID-19 vaccinations may cause side effects, including:
- Pain, swelling, or redness around the injection site.
- Headache.
- Muscle aches.
- Tiredness.
- Fever.
- Chills.
While some experience mild symptoms that don’t interfere with their daily routines, others might need a day or so to rest.
How does COVID-19 affect fertility?
COVID-19 usually causes respiratory symptoms that can feel very similar to the flu. Common symptoms of the disease include coughing, shortness of breath, and sore throat. But some people may feel more severe symptoms, including long-term effects that aren’t always noticeable, such as infertility.
While a vaccine against COVID-19 doesn’t cause issues with fertility, troubles with conceiving may come from contracting the disease that it protects you from. In the same study that showed no correlation between the vaccine and infertility, male participants who recently contracted the disease had lower fertility.
The data showed that when the male partners tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 90 days, the couple was less likely to achieve conception.
Women may also experience infertility that’s linked to other long-term effects of COVID-19, such as shortened or irregular menstrual cycles. The disease can cause ovarian suppression due to sex hormone changes.
It’s also important to note that getting coronavirus while pregnant may cause some complications, including preterm birth, stillbirth, or loss of pregnancy.
Fertility Cloud can help treat infertility caused by COVID-19
While infertility isn’t connected to the COVID-19 vaccine, it’s important to know that there are options you can explore if coronavirus is making it difficult to conceive. If COVID-19 has interfered with your fertility, then a specialist can help you determine which infertility treatment options will work best for you to boost your chance of conception.
Whether the infertility stems from COVID effects on the male or female partner, or a combination of both, Fertility Cloud can help figure out the best course of treatment.
Potential treatment options that your fertility specialist may recommend include:
- Ovarian stimulation and ovulation induction.
- Trigger shots.
- In-vitro-fertilization.
Contact our team by phone today for more information or book an initial appointment online with a fertility specialist.