Covid vaccine NOT linked to reduced fertility scientists say

A new study found no link between coronavirus vaccine and reduced female fertility. 

Researchers at Linköping University in Sweden analysed 60,000 women aged between 18 and 45 in Region Jönköping County.

Of this cohort, 75 per cent were vaccinated once or more against Covid-19 between 2021 and 2024. 

The researchers used data on childbirths, vaccinations, miscarriages and deaths from healthcare records.

When they compared childbirths and miscarriages between vaccinated and unvaccinated women, they found no statistically significant difference between the groups. 

This is in line with several previous studies that have not found any association between the Covid vaccine and reduced fertility.

‘Our conclusion is that it’s highly unlikely that the mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 was behind the decrease in childbirth during the pandemic,’ said Toomas Timpka, professor of social medicine at Linköping University.

Published in the journal Communications Medicine, the research investigated the issue after rumours circulated on social media that Covid vaccines make it harder to fall pregnant. 

In the later stages of the pandemic, there was a decrease in the number of children born in some countries, including Sweden. This raised the question of whether this could be due to the new vaccines.

The researchers believe that the decrease in childbirth can be linked to other reasons, such as financial difficulties, health concerns and changed behaviours, for instance a drop in social mingling during lockdowns.

According to the World Health Organisation, a total of 13.64 billion Covid vaccine doses have been administered since July 2020. As of December 31, 2023, 67 per cent of the total population has been fully vaccinated against the virus. 

A 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis of 29 studies found that there is no scientific proof of any association between Covid vaccines and fertility impairment in men or women. 

However, in 2023, a study found that the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca Covid vaccines can cause unexpected vaginal bleeding in older women and women on birth control.

Before this study, few papers had looked at the impact on women who don’t normally menstruate, such as the elderly and those taking contraceptives.

The study looked at data from more than 20,000 women in this category and found the risk of vaginal bleeding increased two to three times in the four weeks after Covid vaccination compared to before the shot.

In women entering menopause and premenopausal women, the risk was three to five times higher.

Researchers looked at data from August and September 2021.

Ninety-eight per cent of the women included reported receiving their Covid vaccines in January 2021, meaning they had received the original Covid vaccine as opposed to any updated booster shots.

Additionally, in Norway, where the data was collected from, the Covid vaccines used included those manufactured by Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca.

When Covid vaccines were first rolled out, tens of thousands of women complained about late or unusually heavy periods.

Before formal research was conducted, anti-vaxxers latched onto the reports and used them to instil fear that the vaccines caused infertility.

However, research later released showed that while menstrual changes do occur following Covid vaccination, they are minor, temporary and do not impact fertility.

Experts are not entirely sure why changes in menstruation occur, but some believe the vaccine causes some of the body’s tissue to become inflamed, causing changes to the lining of the uterus and hormone levels throughout the body.