Soon The Times article “Coronavirus conspiracy theories: how vaccine infertility rumours spread to the young” became viral as one of the twitter trends. The paper started with the story of Flora, who is suffering from asthma since childhood.
Flora wrote excitedly to her family WhatsApp group as soon as she received a notification inviting her to go for a Covid-19 vaccination. For the 28-year-old, it was a great relief.
Her longstanding concerns made it all the more surprising when her mother rang her minutes later and warned about the potential “side effects” that she had heard about lately.
The Times authors believe that from here, the infertility hoax becomes a mainstay within conspiracy theory communities. The conspiracy spreads to fringe groups worldwide and is promoted in both anti-vax circles and by groups such as QAnon and figures like David Icke.
David Kurten, a member of the London Assembly; Del Bigtree, an American TV producer and Paris Petgrave, a tech company owner, all begin to promote it.
The effect is devastating. Within weeks, doctors and nurses report women asking them whether fertility concerns are valid?
A pivotal moment in the growth of the conspiracy theory comes when Michael Yeadon, a former Pfizer executive, and Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg send a petition to the European Medicines Agency, calling for all covid vaccine clinical trials to be halted.
Knight tweets the video of this to his 130,000 followers, along with the claim that covid vaccines caused sterility in 97% of women, presenting it as a factual ‘investigation’. The estimated UK reach around 1 million.
Dr. Samantha Wild, a Clinical Lead for Women’s Health and Bupa GP, believes that There’s currently no evidence to suggest that COVID-19 vaccines could affect male or female fertility. The Royal College of Midwives and Royal College of Gynaecologists have said there is no plausible way in which there could be an effect.
She added, If you’re trying for a baby, there is nothing in the current UK government guidance to say that you shouldn’t have a COVID-19 vaccine. The direction also says that once you have had a vaccine, there is no reason to avoid becoming pregnant afterward.
The British Fertility Society and Association of Reproductive and Clinical Scientists (ARCS) also stated that there is absolutely no evidence, and no theoretical reason, that any of the vaccines can affect the fertility of women or men.
People of reproductive age are advised to have the vaccine when they receive their invitation for vaccination. This includes those who are trying to have a baby as well as those who are thinking about having a baby, whether that is short or in a few years’ time, ARCS added.
However, research done by Legacy shows there is the possibility of a short-term impact on sperm count after the COVID-19 vaccine. That’s because about 16% of vaccine recipients experience a brief fever—a side effect of the immune response that the vaccine is intended to create. “We know from studies on influenza and other febrile (fever-causing) illnesses that a fever can cause a temporary drop in sperm production and increase in DNA fragmentation, so it’s entirely possible that the COVID-19 vaccine will have this effect as well and because these vaccines are new, the researchers don’t have any data yet on their long-term effects on fertility”, Legacy added.
Kamlesh Khunti, professor of primary care diabetes and vascular medicine at the University of Leicester, told The BMJ that he was concerned that misinformation might have contributed to the lower uptake among doctors in a study he led of vaccination rates in hospital staff at Leicester hospital, which published preliminary findings2 this week.
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The guidance refutes any link between the vaccines and fertility. “There is absolutely no evidence, and no theoretical reason, that any of the vaccines can affect the fertility of women or men,” it says. People of reproductive age should get a covid-19 vaccine when they receive their invitation, including people who are trying to have a baby or thinking about having a baby in the future, the guidance says.
The critical point is that we should differentiate between infertility between Covid-19 and Covid-19 vaccination.
Research conducting by Dr. Hua Lu confirms that the novel coronavirus invades the target cell by binding to ACE2, which is widely expressed in the ovaries, uterus, vagina, and placenta.
Significantly, the SARS-CoV-2 is said to interrupt female fertility by regulating ACE2. By the way, Dr. Hua, in his statement, reiterated that there are no reviews to explore the association between COVID-19 and female fertility comprehensively.
Legacy explains that COVID-19 has a significant impact on male fertility—at least temporarily. In one study, moderate cases of COVID-19 were associated with drops in average sperm concentrations by two-thirds compared to healthy men and drops in average motility of one-half. Additionally, researchers from as Israeli medical center report that patients with moderate COVID-19 symptoms have a 50% reduction in semen volume, sperm concentration, and sperm motility 30 days post-diagnosis.
While Legacy doesn't have enough data yet to say if the effect is long-term, "we know that the coronavirus can infect the testicles and that cases of orchitis—painful inflammation of the testes that can cause permanent fertility issues—have been identified among COVID patients", Legacy added.
So, it’s not inaccurate to say that the COVID-19 vaccine may protect against infertility by providing a high level of protection against COVID-19.
What can we do to protect fertility? One way to preserve your fertility in the face of uncertainty is to freeze your sperm. Sperm freezing allows men to maintain their fertility until they are ready to start or grow their family.
Later City, End//
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