As more and more people around the world receive the COVID-19 vaccine, questions continue to arise about its safety, especially for those who are pregnant or want to become pregnant.
The FDA has stated that, due to a lack of testing of pregnant people, it does not recommend that the vaccine be administered at this time during pregnancy. But what about those who are planning to get pregnant? Should they also avoid the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines?
Although experts in the UK advise against vaccinating people planning to become pregnant within three months of the first dose, no such advice has yet been given in the US.
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “women trying to conceive should not avoid pregnancy after receiving a mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.” The agency added that “routine testing for pregnancy before COVID-19 vaccination is not recommended.”
However, recent concerns have surfaced that the Pfizer vaccine could lead to infertility in women, as it claims to contain a venous protein similar to that of the placenta – the fear is that when the vaccine elicits an immune response igniting against the vein protein, called syncytin-1, it can also attack the placenta-forming proteins.
Fortunately, health experts claim that there is no evidence that the vaccine can lead to sterilization of women. The two proteins involved do not appear to be sufficient for the body’s immune system to confuse them.
Ian Jones, professor of virology at the University of Reading, said that syncytin-1 ‘is not at all related to SARS [spike] protein “and the risk of infertility” is therefore essentially fictitious. “
“Rumors that the Pfizer vaccine results in female sterilization because it contains a peak protein known as syncytin-1 are untrue,” University of Pittsburgh Medical Center experts said in a comprehensive analysis of myths and facts. said about the COVID-19 vaccine. “The vaccine does not contain this protein.”
Still others believe that the absence of evidence is not enough to convince the fears that data may eventually show an impact on fertility once studied more explicitly. As with advice to pregnant people, the CDC suggests that those with safety issues consult their physician. “If they have questions about the vaccination, a conversation with a healthcare provider can help them make an informed decision.”