PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Does the COVID-19 vaccine have an impact on fertility? Penn State reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Samantha Butts said so far, the answer is no.
“The information that we have so far, it’s quite reassuring that there is not a risk to the fertility of women or men if they are vaccinated,” she said.
“Some of the initial studies that led to the human studies for these vaccines studied fertility in points in animals and did not show any issues as far as fertility, early pregnancy outcomes or things of that nature.”
Butts and other Pennsylvania medical professionals met virtually this week to dispel misinformation about the vaccine and its effects on reproductive health.
Lancaster Maternal Fetal Medicine women’s health nurse practitioner Catherine Domanska Elliott said the risks of contracting COVID-19 while pregnant are similar for those who are not pregnant.
However, “pregnant women seem to be at higher risk for ICU admission, mechanical ventilation, and are two to three more times more likely to need advanced life support,” she said. “They are also at a slightly higher risk of dying from COVID-19, theoretically.
“Then, they may be at risk for higher complications like preeclampsia, pre-term birth, even stillbirth.”
Fortunately, she said, it appears vertical transmission of the virus between mother and baby is still pretty rare.
Based on previous studies, Domanska Elliott said it seems babies actually benefit when their mothers are vaccinated because they pass antibodies to them through breast milk.
“We have some really encouraging data, that it seems to be passed through and we don’t know how long that will last or how robust that response is in the baby,” she added.
Natalie Crouse, NP-C MSN, senior director of clinical operations at Adagio Health in western Pennsylvania, said health providers have a responsibility to send accurate information about the safety of vaccinations to the masses.
She said dispelling myths about the vaccine could be life-saving.
“We have demonstrated the risk of a pregnant mother contracting COVID-19 is far greater than the risk of receiving the vaccine,” she said.