The Covid-19 vaccine does not cause infertility. This is why people think it does.

As the first weeks of the Covid-19 vaccines fold in, many who received it, whether it was the one made by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, have posted selfies while getting the some pictures on social media, and offer play-by-play details of any effects. Most vaccine recipients, who had been primarily health care workers in those early weeks of vaccine distribution, have reported some arm soreness for a day. Some reported fever, chills, fatigue, and headache, also for a day or less. There have been rare cases of severe allergic reactions, but those have even been treated and treated. For the most part, these small symptoms are exacerbated compared to feelings of urgency, hope, relief, and vision at the onset of the pandemic.

Pictured below is Dr. Paul Offit, Infectious Disease Specialist and Specialist at Philadelphia Children’s Hospital, receiving his Covid-19 vaccine.

However, those who are trying to conceive, or who are considering pregnancy and / or in vitro fertilization (IVF) are concerned that the vaccines could affect pregnancy or lead to fetal loss. This concern has shifted into a myth of social media word of mouth that women who are considering philosophical should not be vaccinated. How can a vaccine that prevents respiratory illness be infertile? Well, no, but several social media posts falsely claimed that there was a link between the spike protein created by getting the mRNA – based vaccines and protein inhibition necessary for formation and maintenance to the uterus of the human placenta. Using scientific terms such as protein, syncitin-1, placenta, antibodies, and sterilization, science-like false claims quickly became science fiction.

The protein syncitin-1 is essential for the placenta to attach to the uterus and to be a source of nutrition and blood supply to the fetus during pregnancy, but this is not the protein known as the Covid-19, or SARS-CoV-2 , spike protein. Both share some similar amino acids, but they are not the same proteins. At all. The antibodies released against Covid-19 spike protein do not inhibit syncitin-1. While the Covid-19 spike protein shares several amino acids in common with syncitin-1, it is unlikely to be similar (in fact, not even close to the same substance) for the antibodies recognition and inhibition of this placental binding protein.

During the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine study, 23 study participants became pregnant during their immunization trial. There was one severe loss, but this was in a participant who received the placebo, not the vaccine.

Although there is no evidence that Covid-19 fungal infections cause infertility in the short or long term, there has been evidence that the infectious disease can lead to orchitis, or inflammation in the testicles. This would not be specific for SARS-CoV-2, like other viruses such as pneumonia, hepatitis, and Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV). As reported in Forbes with Dr. Bruce Y. Lee, the presence of ACE2 receptors in the testicles may indicate that the virus has the ability to establish a store in the scrotal sac.

The FDA’s first report on vaccine safety and recommendations for both recently released mRNA vaccines included pregnant women and those who are breastfeeding. , as well as women who wanted to conceive, as part of the group they would recommend getting vaccinated in the first place. spread out to health care workers.

Pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection have had extremely difficult courses, and some have died and / or fetal loss as a result of serious Covid-19 infections. Vaccination of this group of pregnant and lactating women is recommended by the American College of Physicians and Gynecologists (ACOG). In addition, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), which provides education, research and advocacy for at-risk pregnant women and their babies, recommended the administration of Covid-19 for health care workers who are pregnant with a child in their statement of December 1, 2020.

As the Covid-19 vaccine continues to be available more and more to frontline workers, and ultimately to the at-risk older population and then the general population, the science of the vaccine remains essential. read, not vaccine science fiction.