Can The Covid-19 Vaccine Affect Male Fertility?

 

For the past few months there have been ongoing rumors about how the Covid-19 vaccine affects fertility. Without a background check and own research, you can easily get tangled in all the fake information floating around in the sea of Facebook posts and random “news” articles, created for click-baiting. These posts are also being shared by your relatives and friends, whose judgment and knowledge you would usually rely on and trust.

In the urge of calming down the society, especially young adults who are yet to plan their future and family, Dr. Ranjith Ramasamy, reproductive urologist, has initiated a study in The University of Miami about the Covid-19 vaccines potential impact on sperm and reproduction.

“We’re evaluating the sperm parameters and quality before the vaccine and after the vaccine. From the biology of the COVID vaccine we believe it should not affect fertility, but we want to do the study to make sure that men who want to have kids in the future knows it is safe to go ahead and get the vaccine”, said Ramasamy in an interview with Local 10.

Along with our previous blog about the Covid-19 virus effect on male fertility and how it can damage sperm quality and quantity, the outcome of this research could possibly show, that by taking the vaccine, men can protect their reproductive health.

 

The study began in mid-December and is estimated to finish in June 2021, to conclude a primary outcome.

The factors being measured are[1]:

Sperm motility

Sperm motility is “the ability of an organism or fluid to move forward”. Progressive motility indicates if the sperm has the ability to find their way to the cervix and into the womb, so having more progressive motile sperm will greatly increase the chances of achieving pregnancy.

Sperm concentration

              Sperm concentration refers to the number of sperm per unit volume (milliliter) of semen and the total sperm count is the total number of sperm in the entire ejaculate. If the sperm count is low but the sperm is of high quality and good progressive motility, sperm count levels might be considered in the normal range.

 

These two factors will be evaluated in approx. 60 men (aged 18-50) before and after receiving Covid-19 vaccine and for a time frame up to 6 months post vaccination. The men will also receive a health check, to exclude other conditions that could affect reproductive health. There are listed many exclusion criteria for participants, such as infertility, a recent positive Covid-19 test and others, so that the results would be valid and reliable.

 

Goal of the Study

Ramasamy, MD, specialized in reproductive urology, mentions that since the vaccine production was rushed for “urgent use,” more research is needed. While the researcher claims that, most likely, there will be no impact on male fertility, he is hoping for reassurance from the findings. “Based on the mechanism by which mRNA acts, we do not expect the COVID-19 vaccines will have an impact on male fertility. But obviously, we want data to confirm that hypothesis,” says Ranjith Ramasamy, MD according to Verywellfamily.com

 

Important takeaways

• The University of Miami is performing a research on Covid-19 vaccines effect on male fertility.

 

• The study will track the motility and concentration of sperm for 6 months to see how they are impacted by the mRNA vaccine.

 

• Current research shows that the COVID-19 vaccine does not cause infertility, and researchers hope to confirm this.

 

[1] https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT04665258 COVID-19 Vaccine and Impact on Fertility - Study