Researchers Find No Associations Between Pfizer, Moderna Vaccines And Adverse Effects On Stimulation, Early Pregnancy Outcomes With IVF
Healio (1/25, Gawel) reports, “Researchers found no associations between the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines and adverse effects on stimulation or early pregnancy outcomes with IVF, according to a study published in Obstetrics & Gynecology.” Devora A. Aharon, MD, the author of the study, said, “This study found no significant differences in response to ovarian stimulation, egg quality, embryo development or pregnancy outcomes between the vaccinated compared to unvaccinated patient.” Healthline (1/25) and Reuters (1/26) also report.
Pregnant People With COVID-19 At Greater Risk For Severe Disease, Adverse Birth Outcomes, Especially Those Who Are Unvaccinated, Research Confirms
The New York Times (1/13, Rabin ) reports research published in Nature Medicine suggests that pregnant people with COVID-19 “were not only at greater risk of developing severe disease, but also” faced a greater risk of stillbirth or preterm birth. Investigators analyzed data from all people in Scotland “who were pregnant or became pregnant after March 1, 2020, through the end of October 2021,” tracking “144,546 pregnancies in 130,875 women during this period.”
MedPage Today (1/13, D’Ambrosio ) reports, “Of 4,950 confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections during pregnancy, 77.4% occurred” among unvaccinated patients, while “90.9% of the infections that required hospital admission and 98.1% that required critical care admission were in the unvaccinated.” In total, “2,364 infants were born to mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy; 11 were stillbirths and eight resulted in neonatal death,” while “the preterm birth rate was 16.6% among those that occurred within 28 days of a COVID-19 diagnosis.”
USA Today (1/13, Rodriguez ) and STAT (1/13, Gaffney) also report on the study.
For more than a year, the whole world has lived with the Covid pandemic. There has been no shortage of opinions and controversy regarding this disease. Here are the facts as physicians best know them:
If you are trying to get pregnant, it would be ideal to get vaccinated prior to conception. Covid vaccination has no impact on fertility! Covid infection during pregnancy can be extremely severe since during pregnancy your immune system is not as strong. We know of patients in Cincinnati who were severely ill in the ICU while pregnant.
Unless you have severe medical conditions such as cancer or severe immune problems the answer is, “yes”. There are now studies with more than 30,000 patients documenting the safety of Covid vaccination during pregnancy. You can be immediately vaccinated, or if low risk, wait until after 12 weeks of pregnancy to get vaccinated. By 12 weeks the baby is fully developed and therefore risk of birth defects has mostly passed.
It is also important to note those who get Covid-19 in the first trimester are at higher risk of miscarriage especially when illness is severe. Therefore, it is even more important to get vaccinated to protect you and baby during pregnancy.
Yes. ACOG recommends a booster for Moderna or Pfizer vaccines at least 6 months after the last dose for pregnant women. Those who have already received the J&J vaccine a booster is recommended 2 months after the last dose. Also, boosters will protect you against new variants such as Omicron.
For women less than 50 years of age, the Moderna or Pfizer are best. The J&J vaccine is best for women over 50 years of age or men of any age.
No. It is a myth that the Covid vaccines increase pregnancy loss or miscarriage. A lot of pregnant women have now received the vaccines and the data does not support a claim that fertility is affected. In fact, the American Society of Reproductive Medicine recommends people get a Covid vaccine even while getting fertility treatment.
Common side effects include soreness at the site of injection and sometimes a low-grade fever for a day. These can be treated with Tylenol, or if not pregnant, medications like Motrin. Severe reactions are rare. These include allergic reaction. The chance of severe reaction is remote and not greater than other vaccines you have already received like Rubella or Polio.
Yes. We were vaccinated at the earliest opportunity which was December 2020.
There are many good reasons to get vaccinated. Protecting yourself, your family and friends is one reason. Ending the pandemic is yet another. It will also decrease the chance of having to cancel appointments during treatment. If enough people do not get vaccinated, Covid can infect the unvaccinated population and could mutate to a point that current vaccines would not be effective. We would all relive the nightmare again. If you are currently trying to get pregnant and get vaccinated, protective antibodies will cross the placenta and protect your baby. If that is not enough reason, if you are unvaccinated, you will likely be required to mask indoors for another year. IRH cares about you! Please let us know if you have other concerns about Covid vaccination.
