A study led by Boston University School of Public Health researchers found COVID-19 vaccination in either partner does not impact fertility among coup

COVID-19 Vaccines Don’t Cause Infertility or Harm Pregnancy Chances, BU Research Shows

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2022-01-25 06:00:09

A study led by Boston University School of Public Health researchers found COVID-19 vaccination in either partner does not impact fertility among couples. Photo by AtnoYdur/iStock

Having a COVID-19 vaccine doesn’t impact a couple’s chances of becoming pregnant—but skipping the shots and landing a coronavirus infection might reduce male fertility.

Those are the findings in a paper published in the American Journal of Epidemiology by researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health. In a study of couples trying to conceive, they found no association between COVID-19 vaccination and the likelihood of conception in female or male partners who received the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

“Many reproductive-aged individuals have cited concerns about fertility as a reason for remaining unvaccinated,” says Amelia Wesselink, an SPH research assistant professor of epidemiology and the study’s lead author. The vaccination rate among pregnant people has remained stubbornly low in the United States, despite new data suggesting that being unvaccinated increases the chances of a miscarriage or of a baby dying within the first month of life.

“Our study shows, for the first time, that COVID-19 vaccination in either partner is unrelated to fertility among couples trying to conceive through intercourse,” says Wesselink. “Time-to-pregnancy was very similar regardless of vaccination status.”