IVF & Early Pregnancy Outcomes of the COVID Vaccine Study

 

On whether COVID mRNA vaccines had an impact on the success of IVF or FET cycles, a group of doctors reported their findings. They reported no differences in the fertilization rate, number of eggs retrieved, number of mature eggs, blastocyst formation rate, or euploidy rate between the 222 vaccinated patients and the 983 unvaccinated patients undergoing IVF. Additionally, they compared the implantation rates and pregnancy losses of 214 vaccinated patients and 733 unvaccinated patients who underwent a single PGT-tested embryo transfer and found no differences. Vietsub Sex Movies

Simply knowing this information at face value is crucial. Given that the study's data center is located in New York City, I was a little taken aback by the ratio of vaccinated to unvaccinated patients. As opposed to the experience of the general middle adult population, this got me to thinking about the infertility patient's experience over the past two years.

The medical community has previously stated that there is no proof to substantiate the worry that mRNA vaccines affect fertility, and two earlier studies found no impact on sperm quality. But it's possible that this didn't do enough to allay fears about people who are already infertile.

Patients frequently inquire about how diet, exercise, medications, exposure to the environment, and other factors they read about online may affect fertility. And while there is some evidence to suggest that some of these factors may have some influence, we all know people who have poor diets, smoke, ride bikes, etc., and still conceive on their own.

And people are still willing to give up all of those things in the hopes that doing so will slightly increase their chances of becoming parents. So I can understand why there might have been a greater fear among members of the infertility community than among the general public to consider mRNA vaccination, despite the fact that there is no evidence that it harms fertility. If that is the case, this publication is fantastic for giving specific data demonstrating that the COVID vaccine did not affect the results of IVF or FET, even in this particular subgroup.

However, the scientist in me feels compelled to point out a few small flaws. Although it's encouraging that the data shows no change, they omitted any details regarding the male partner's vaccination status. (To be clear, I don't anticipate that to change outcomes based on all the data we currently have.) More importantly, they didn't include anyone who had taken their second dose within 14 days of the first or between the first two doses of the primary series.

This information could have given us more insight into when to administer booster shots. Perhaps a booster shot prior to pregnancy will be advised in the future, as we do in cases of waning rubella immunity, given that COVID infection has a higher rate of hospitalization with serious complications during pregnancy when compared to women in the same age bracket who are not pregnant.

Finally, J&J vaccinated patients were not included in the study. Knowing whether there is an acute inflammatory effect triggered by the immune response to vaccination and whether this impacts outcomes will help people decide how long prior to IVF or FET to schedule their booster doses. I can see why scientists believe that this data may skew results because this vaccine has a different mechanism of action than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. However, it appears that most studies do not include this group, and those who received these vaccinations could also benefit from knowing more about their specific situation.

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