COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination Does Not Impair IVF Outcomes

FRIDAY, Feb. 4, 2022 (HealthDay News) — For women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF), COVID-19 mRNA vaccine administration is not associated with adverse effects on fertilization rates or early pregnancy outcomes, according to a study published online Jan. 25 in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Devora Aharon, M.D., from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, and colleagues compared the fertilization rate for controlled ovarian hyperstimulation and the clinical pregnancy rate for frozen-thawed embryo transfer for patients fully vaccinated with a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine and unvaccinated patients who cycled during the same period.

The researchers found that in an adjusted analysis, there was no association between COVID-19 vaccination and fertilization rate or any of the secondary outcomes assessed, including eggs retrieved, mature oocytes retrieved, mature oocytes ratio, blastulation rate, or euploid rate, for 222 vaccinated patients and 983 unvaccinated patients who underwent controlled ovarian hyperstimulation cycles between February and September 2021. In an adjusted analysis, there was no significant association observed between vaccination and clinical pregnancy in 214 vaccinated patients and 733 unvaccinated patients undergoing single euploid frozen-thawed embryo transfer; no significant association was seen for any of the secondary outcomes, including pregnancy, ongoing pregnancy, biochemical pregnancy loss, or clinical pregnancy loss.

“These findings provide additional reassuring data that COVID-19 vaccination does not adversely affect fertility or early pregnancy outcomes and contribute to the growing body of evidence that the risk-to-benefit ratio supports vaccination in women who are pregnant or trying to conceive,” the authors write.

Two authors disclosed financial ties to the biotechnology and health care industries.

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