Message about COVID-19 screening and safety measures

Introduction

COVID-19 vaccine information for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding or wish to conceive. There is widespread misinformation regarding the COVID-19 vaccine and pandemic.1 It is important to be aware of this issue in this infodemic, and to seek out and distribute factual content in order to make well-informed decisions based on current evidence. The following is a collection of some* accurate reports backed by public health experts

*Please continue to check reliable sources of information such as the World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stay up-to-date on accurate information and reports.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Are COVID-19 vaccines safe for pregnant women?

  • Yes, COVID-19 vaccines are safe for all pregnant, breastfeeding and women who wish to conceive. It does not impact your ability to become pregnant.
  • The rate of pregnancy did not differ in unvaccinated females with women vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines.2,3

Could the COVID-19 vaccine cause infertility in females?

  • No, COVID-19 vaccines do not cause or lead to infertility. This is not a concern at all. There is no scientific evidence or reason to suggest this as shown from research studies.4,5,6,7
  • There is no cross reactivity or potential damage to the placenta due to antibodies produced against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. There is no significant similarity between the amino acid sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and syncytin-1. These antibodies do not attack the human placenta syncytin-1 protein.

Does the COVID-19 vaccine influence IVF-ET cycle outcomes?

  • No, COVID-19 vaccine does not affect IVF cycle outcomes or ovarian reserve.4,7,8 There is no decrease in embryo implantation and no increase in pregnancy loss.9
  • The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC), Canadian Fertility & Andrology Society (CFAS), American College of Obstetricians and gynecologists (ACOG), National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) and other international bodies recommends pregnant women to receive the COVID-19 vaccine - having deemed it safe and effective.

Can COVID-19 negatively affect pregnancy?

  • Unfortunately, pregnant and recently pregnant women are at significantly higher risk of pneumonia, respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation, and mortality compared to non-pregnant women.10,11
    • This is because the immune system is suppressed in pregnancy to tolerate the fetus, leading to a greater risk for complications if they contract COVID-19 during pregnancy.12
  • Current studies have suggested there is a risk for intrauterine vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to the newborn.13,14

What are the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women and the fetus?

  • COVID-19 vaccines are safe and equally effective in pregnant and nonpregnant women of reproductive age.
  • It promotes the robust production of antibodies to protect against the COVID-19 virus, which are passed onto your baby15
    • Breastmilk also contains these antibodies which can be beneficially passed onto a baby who is breast feed.

Additional Resources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Johns Hopkins Medicine

Society of Obstetricians and and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC)

References

  1. Cuan-Baltazar JY, Muñoz-Perez MJ, Robledo-Vega C, Pérez-Zepeda MF, Soto-Vega E. Misinformation of COVID-19 on the Internet: Infodemiology Study. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2020 Apr 9;6(2):e18444. doi: 10.2196/18444. PMID: 32250960; PMCID: PMC7147328.
  2. Shimabukuro TT, Kim SY, Myers TR, Moro PL, Oduyebo T, Panagiotakopoulos L, Marquez PL, Olson CK, Liu R, Chang KT, Ellington SR, Burkel VK, Smoots AN, Green CJ, Licata C, Zhang BC, Alimchandani M, Mba-Jonas A, Martin SW, Gee JM, Meaney-Delman DM; CDC v-safe COVID-19 Pregnancy Registry Team. Preliminary Findings of mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine Safety in Pregnant Persons. N Engl J Med. 2021 Jun 17;384(24):2273-2282. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2104983. Epub 2021 Apr 21. Erratum in: N Engl J Med. 2021 Sep 8;: PMID: 33882218; PMCID: PMC8117969.
  3. Male V. Are COVID-19 vaccines safe in pregnancy? Nat Rev Immunol. 2021 Apr;21(4):200-201. doi: 10.1038/s41577-021-00525-y.
  4. Bentov Y, Beharier O, Moav-Zafrir A, Kabessa M, Godin M, Greenfield CS, Ketzinel-Gilad M, Ash Broder E, Holzer HEG, Wolf D, Oiknine-Djian E, Barghouti I, Goldman-Wohl D, Yagel S, Walfisch A, Hersko Klement A. Ovarian follicular function is not altered by SARS-CoV-2 infection or BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. Hum Reprod. 2021 Aug 18;36(9):2506-2513. doi: 10.1093/humrep/deab182. PMID: 34364311; PMCID: PMC8385874.
  5. Bowman CJ, Bouressam M, Campion SN, Cappon GD, Catlin NR, Cutler MW, Diekmann J, Rohde CM, Sellers RS, Lindemann C. Lack of effects on female fertility and prenatal and postnatal offspring development in rats with BNT162b2, a mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. Reprod Toxicol. 2021 Aug;103:28-35. doi: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2021.05.007. Epub 2021 May 28. PMID: 34058573; PMCID: PMC8163337.
  6. Wang M, Yang Q, Ren X, Hu J, Li Z, Long R, Xi Q, Zhu L, Jin L. Investigating the impact of asymptomatic or mild SARS-CoV-2 infection on female fertility and in vitro fertilization outcomes: A retrospective cohort study. EClinicalMedicine. 2021 Aug;38:101013. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101013. Epub 2021 Jul 6. PMID: 34250457; PMCID: PMC8259363.
  7. Safrai M, Rottenstreich A, Herzberg S, Imbar T, Reubinoff B, Ben-Meir A. Stopping the misinformation: BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine has no negative effect on women’s fertility. medRxiv 2021 Jun ​​doi:https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.30.21258079
  8. Orvieto, R., Noach-Hirsh, M., Segev-Zahav, A. et al. Does mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine influence patients' performance during IVF-ET cycle?. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 19, 69 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12958-021-00757-6
  9. Morris RS. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein seropositivity from vaccination or infection does not cause sterility. F S Rep. 2021 Sep;2(3):253-255. doi: 10.1016/j.xfre.2021.05.010. Epub 2021 Jun 2. PMID: 34095871; PMCID: PMC8169568.
  10. Martinez-Portilla RJ, Sotiriadis A, Chatzakis C, Torres-Torres J, Espino Y Sosa S, Sandoval-Mandujano K, Castro-Bernabe DA, Medina-Jimenez V, Monarrez-Martin JC, Figueras F, Poon LC (2020) Pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection are at higher risk of death and severe pneumonia: propensity score-matched analysis of a nationwide prospective cohort study (COV19Mx). Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol DOI: 10.1002/uog.23575.
  11. Taylor MM, Kobeissi L, Kim C, Amin A, Thorson AE, Bellare NB, Brizuela V, Bonet M, Kara E, Thwin SS, Kuganantham H, Ali M, Oladapo OT, and Broutet N (2021) Inclusion of pregnant women in COVID-19 treatment trials: a review and global call to action. Lancet Glob Health DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30484-8.
  12. Chen G, Liao Q, Ai J, Yang B, Bai H, Chen J, Liu F, Cao Y, Liu H, Li K. Immune Response to COVID-19 During Pregnancy. Front Immunol. 2021 May 3;12:675476. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.675476. PMID: 34012458; PMCID: PMC8126657.
  13. Vivanti, A.J., Vauloup-Fellous, C., Prevot, S. et al. Transplacental transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nat Commun 11, 3572 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17436-6
  14. Kotlyar AM, Grechukhina O, Chen A, Popkhadze S, Grimshaw A, Tal O, Taylor HS, Tal R. Vertical transmission of coronavirus disease 2019: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2021 Jan;224(1):35-53.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2020.07.049. Epub 2020 Jul 31. PMID: 32739398; PMCID: PMC7392880.
  15. Gray KJ, Bordt EA, Atyeo C, Deriso E, Akinwunmi B, Young N, Baez AM, Shook LL, Cvrk D, James K, De Guzman R, Brigida S, Diouf K, Goldfarb I, Bebell LM, Yonker LM, Fasano A, Rabi SA, Elovitz MA, Alter G, Edlow AG. Coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine response in pregnant and lactating women: a cohort study. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2021 Sep;225(3):303.e1-303.e17. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2021.03.023. Epub 2021 Mar 26. PMID: 33775692; PMCID: PMC7997025.