Follow us on networks
instagram Facebook
fertility store logo

COVID vaccine, fertility and assisted reproduction

covid vaccine and assisted reproduction

COVID vaccine and fertility processes

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) has wreaked havoc on a socio-economic level with billions of lives affected by this devastating pandemic. Fertility processes have not been immune to this impact. Couples who were in the fertility process saw their projects slow down and there was nothing they could do to speed them up. Better knowledge about the routes of transmission and contagion, as well as the appearance of vaccines, have brought good news for these couples. However, the meteoritic development of vaccines and the urgency in their application have raised serious doubts among assisted reproduction patients. 

In this post we collect the latest data published by relevant organizations both nationally and internationally. However, data on Covid and its repercussions in different aspects are changing very quickly, so the following official data and recommendations are valid for this current moment, August 2021.

How do Covid vaccines work?

The first thing to keep in mind is that preventing a disease is not synonymous with preventing its infection. The vaccines developed against Covid-19 to date have demonstrated effectiveness in alleviating its most serious effects, but at the moment there is no vaccine capable of preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection. 

But although current vaccines do not prevent SARS-CoV-2 from replicating in the respiratory tract, they do reduce the severity of symptoms, which can indirectly cut transmission.

While each vaccine works differently, all COVID-19 vaccines trigger an immune response so the body remembers how to fight the virus in the future.

According to the British Fertility Society and the Association of Clinical and Reproductive Scientists in February 2021, the availability of safe and effective vaccines against Covid-19 offers a way to protect against this disease and access fertility treatment safely. These institutions recommend vaccination of people of reproductive age. This includes those who are in the fertility process currently or in the near future or in a few years.

Types of vaccines and differences

The Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines use pioneering technology to date in the world of human immunology. An antigen is not used to trigger the immune response but uses messenger RNA from the virus itself, manufactured in the laboratory. Thousands of copies of this mRNA are inoculated into the body as instructions for manufacturing specific antibodies for Covid. This mRNA is then easily degraded and does not interact with human DNA. 

  • Advantages: fewer side effects than those based on adenovirus and at the moment no controversy associated with possible thrombi. 
  • Disadvantages: More expensive and more difficult to store.

The Janssen (Johnson&Johnson) and Astrazeneca (Oxford) vaccines, on the other hand, follow a vaccination method that has been tested for years: inoculation with the adenovirus that is deactivated, attenuated or directly killed but which, despite this, is capable of activating our body's immune response. In the case of Janssen, a genetically modified version of the virus itself is inoculated, which deactivates it. When this virus enters the body, it does not cause disease but it does induce immunity against the virus because it expresses its proteins. In this way, for example, smallpox was eradicated in 1980. The Russian Sputnik V vaccine also works this way, although it has not been purchased by the Spanish Government. 

  • Advantages: cheap and easy to transport and store in both conventional refrigerators and freezers. 
  • Disadvantages: they can cause side effects such as fever, headache, muscle pain... more notable than the following. They would not be recommended for immunosuppressed people or pregnant women.

None of the vaccines contain live viruses, so there is no risk of contracting the virus from the vaccination itself.

Do vaccines affect the fertile capacity of men and women?

Both SARS-COV-2 infection and vaccination with the mRNA vaccine, although shown to cross into the follicular fluid, do not appear to have a detrimental effect on follicular function.

In another study, the first to evaluate the impact of the mRNA vaccine on sperm parameters, no difference was identified between the results obtained in men before or after vaccination

The study, from May 2021, is pending review by external professionals.

So, with these data, and given that SARS-CoV-2 infection can theoretically affect male fertility (COVID and impact on fertility and assisted reproduction) it seems to be recommended that couples who wish to conceive get vaccinated beforehand. Vaccination does not affect sperm, while SARS-CoV-2 infection can affect the sperm parameter.

Vaccines and assisted fertility processes

According to the British Fertility Society, none of the four most commercial vaccines can affect fertility. They state that there is absolutely no evidence, nor any theoretical reason, to conclude that vaccines can affect the fertility of women or men.

For this reason, there is no problem with receiving a Covid-19 vaccine during fertility treatments: whether it is IVF, a transfer of cryopreserved embryos, ovulation induction processes, intrauterine insemination or egg or sperm donation processes. . 

In a major Israeli study, all couples who underwent consecutive cycles of ovarian stimulation for IVF, before and after receiving the Covid virus mRNA vaccine, reached the egg collection stage correctly. The stimulation characteristics and embryological variables of couples who underwent IVF treatments after receiving the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine were evaluated and compared with their IVF cycles before vaccination. These data did not demonstrate statistically relevant changes. Thirty-six couples resumed IVF treatment between 7 and 85 days after receiving the mRNA vaccine. With these data, they conclude that, although more studies would be needed to validate their observations, the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine did not affect the patients' performance or the ovarian reserve in their subsequent IVF cycle.

You may, however, want to consider when receiving the Covid-19 vaccine keeping in mind that some people may develop bothersome side effects in the days following vaccination such as pain at the injection site, fever, headache, soreness, muscle or feeling of tiredness. In this sense, it could make sense, to the extent that the fertility process allows it, to be able to adapt the dates as best as possible to avoid discomfort on especially delicate days. 

Is it advisable to delay treatment?

Beyond this situation described, there is no reason to delay or stop any fertility treatment in progress. The only reason to consider delaying fertility treatment until after you have been vaccinated would be wanting to be previously protected against the Covid-19 virus before you can get pregnant. 

For younger women, under 37 years of age, it would not be particularly important to delay their treatments for this purpose by 3 to 6 months; however, in women older than this age, it must be taken into account. Delays of several months can end up affecting the chances of success in treatments, especially in women over 40 years of age or with proven low ovarian reserve.

Vaccines and egg or sperm donation processes

The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority in the United Kingdom has recommended allowing at least 7 days between vaccination and egg or sperm donation, especially if the donor feels unwell after vaccination, they should not donate for 7 days after vaccination. appearance of the first symptoms.

positive test and vaccination

There is no reason to believe that any of the Covid-19 vaccines could be harmful to a pregnant woman, but it is also true that their effects on pregnancy have not yet been fully investigated. 

Although clinical trials of the vaccines did not include pregnant women, the available data, mainly from vaccine use in the United States, do not indicate any adverse effects on pregnancy. A large American study, carried out with 36,591 pregnant women who were inoculated with mRNA vaccines, has not found any safety problems for the health of pregnant women.

Official recommendations

The official recommendations to date in our country is to receive the vaccine. Either in case of being part of a risk category, or due to the possibility of exposure to the virus in the workplace or previous medical problems. 

Pregnant women, in principle, are more susceptible to respiratory infections. This is due to a state of natural semi-suppression during the nine months of pregnancy. For example, a mortality rate of 37% was observed among pregnant women during the 1918 flu pandemic compared to 2.6% in the general population.

However, at the moment the Ministry of Health has not classified pregnant women as a priority vaccination group. From the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization of the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), a world leader in genomic research, it has recommended that pregnant women delay their vaccination. JCVI has recommended vaccination after pregnancy if you are not part of a risk group due to some other factor.

It may interest you: 

COVID and fertility references:

Subscribe to our Newsletter

en_GB
en_GB es_ES