Covid vaccine can’t affect your fertility

One of the vaccine scare stories put about by antivaxxers is that they can affect a woman’s fertility. Well, they don’t and can’t. There’s absolutely no evidence that Covid-19 vaccines can affect the fertility of women or men, according to new expert guidance from the Association of Reproductive and Clinical Scientists and the British Fertility Society.

Professor Kamlesh Khunti, professor of primary care diabetes and vascular medicine at Leicester, told the BMJ he was concerned that misinformation may have contributed to the lower uptake among doctors in a study he led of vaccination rates in staff at Leicester Hospital.

He said: “We’ve seen blatant misinformation that the vaccine may have an effect on fertility for younger women – that’s coming through regularly on social media.”

The guidance says: “There is absolutely no evidence, and no theoretical reason that any of the vaccines can affect the fertility of women or men.”

It adds that people of reproductive age should get a vaccine when they receive their invitation, including people who are trying to have a baby or thinking about having a baby in the future.

Furthermore, people may start fertility treatment immediately after being vaccinated.

Pregnant women in a Covid risk category can have the vaccine, but those who are not should delay the vaccine until after pregnancy, the guidance advises.