Will the Covid vaccine cause infertility? How does it relate to vaccine hesitancy.
I’m not a parent, but I imagine that being a parent is a joy. Hearing that you can’t have kids is heartbreaking to hear to say the least. In this blog post, I will be talking about: Covid vaccine hesitancy, and does the covid vaccine cause infertility.
The idea that covid vaccines cause infertility is not new. It’s been circling around social media for a while now. To be honest, I don’t know who said it causes infertility, or where it came from, but this is a clear example of misinformation (false information spread without ill intent). Though it was misinformation, the effect was astronomical. People are afraid to get the vaccine, thinking the vaccine will harm their unborn child, or will cause infertility. Let’s break that myth together, for once and for all.
According to https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/pregnancy.html, the CDC states that if a pregnant woman becomes infected with covid, it is often more severe to the mom than if the woman is not pregnant. This can also result in preterm birth of the child. That’s scary. That may be an indication to some to get the vaccine, and to take precautions to avoid Covid at all costs. However, there is currently not much information available on the safety of the vaccine on pregnant women. All vaccine companies, Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson say that their vaccines are safe. All companies are undergoing emergency authorization to start clinical trials on the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine on pregnant women. All vaccine companies have injected pregnant animals with the covid vaccine, and they all had a healthy pregnancy and healthy babies, causing no health or birth defects. While it is reassuring to hear, we’re not lab animals.
There is something reassuring about vaccines and pregnancy, though. While the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are mRNA vaccines, the Johnson and Johnson vaccine is a vector vaccine. This is not the first time that vaccine companies have experimented with a vector vaccine. Vaccine companies experimented with vector vaccines during the ebola outbreak. In the ebola clinical trials, the ebola vaccine was a vector vaccine. All the women vaccinated in those trials had uncomplicated pregnancies and healthy babies.
At the end of the article, the CDC recognizes that there is not enough evidence to conclude its efficacy and safety of the vaccines in pregnancy. However, it does state that there is no need to hesitate to get the vaccine if you are pregnant, or plan to become pregnant. Reassuringly, they state that this holds true for all vaccines. Not once has vaccines harmed chances of getting pregnant. Conception can happen after a flu shot, or after the MMR or TDAP vaccine without any complications. Point blank, the CDC states themselves that the Covid vaccine does not cause fertility issues.
In conclusion, Covid vaccines does NOT cause infertility. The myth that the Covid vaccine causes infertility is a lie, and is a plain example of misinformation. Clinical trials are under way to test the vaccine efficacy and safety in pregnant women. There is no evidence to conclude that the vaccine is unsafe.
