FALSE: COVID – 19 CAUSES INFERTILITY IN MEN
Written by Celine Abuga on January 28, 2022
Covid – 19 infection can potentially cause infertility in men but up to 60 days and not as people have been claiming that it causes infertility for both men and women. Sky FM looked into the claim and found to be false.
Research funded by the National Institutes of Health in the U.S, It found that getting vaccinated against Covid had no discernable effects on fertility rates in either men or women, adding to a growing body of evidence regarding the safety of Covid vaccines.
The study also found that men who tested positive for Covid within 60 days of their partner’s menstrual cycle were 18% less likely to conceive during that cycle, compared with men who had not tested positive.
Wesselink says the findings showed no long-term effects from Covid infections on male fertility, or any effects on female fertility.
Dr. Boback Berookhim, director of male fertility and microsurgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, says men who had symptomatic Covid with high fevers can potentially experience a temporary decline in sperm count that’s likely to rebound after a couple months.
“Sperm production generally requires normal body temperatures,” he says.
Dr. Adi Katz, Lenox Hill’s director of gynecology, says inflammation caused by an infection may also play a role in reducing sperm quality. Multiple studies have now shown that Covid infections can affect male fertility, mostly in people who fall moderately to severely ill, she adds.
Researchers in the NIH-funded study noted that the short-term decline in male fertility could potentially be avoided by getting vaccinated against Covid. Wesselink says she hopes the study results can help couples make informed decisions about Covid vaccinations, and provide reassurance that getting vaccinated will not harm their chances of conceiving.
