October 27, 2021
Can the COVID-19 vaccine affect pregnant people or people who plan to have children?
If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant, it is important to know information about the protection that vaccines provide for you, your baby, or the possibilities of having one in the future. There are many doubts and uncertainties regarding this topic, which is why many studies have been developed on the effects of COVID-19 among pregnant people who have received the vaccine and those who have not.
Pregnancy is not a disease. However, it does cause important changes in the body. It is for this reason that pregnancy appears in the list of medical conditions that put adults at risk of experiencing serious effects of COVID-19.
Someone who is seriously affected by COVID-19 requires care that cannot be provided at home, and hospitalization is necessary to care for them, such as admittance to the intensive care unit and even help with breathing through respiratory equipment. In pregnant people, these factors increase the risk of premature birth before 37 weeks.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), vaccines are safe and effective during pregnancy for the following reasons:
Before administering vaccines to humans, animal studies were carried out: there were no safety problems with animals or their offspring.
Studies with pregnant people have been carried out with other vaccines that use the same method (viral vector), for example, for diseases such as Ebola.
COVID-19 vaccines do not contain live viruses, and therefore do not cause infection.
Vaccination of pregnant people strengthens protection for them and their babies.
In the U.S., the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have developed systems to observe and analyze data on vaccination during pregnancy.
Can the vaccine affect my chances of having a baby in the future (affect my fertility)?
Many people are concerned that the COVID-19 vaccine can reduce the chance of conceiving in the short or long term. So far, professional medical organizations emphasize that there is no evidence to show that any vaccine developed to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 causes problems with having children.
During the pandemic, scientific institutions conducted studies related to the effects of COVID-19 and vaccines on the fertility of women and men. They compared the fertility of people who contracted COVID-19, people who were vaccinated, and people who were unvaccinated. The results between each did not vary. The vaccines and the disease did not influence people’s chances of conceiving.
It is not necessary to take a pregnancy test before receiving a vaccine.
If you are trying to become pregnant, you should not avoid the vaccination.
If you have already been vaccinated and wish to begin a pregnancy, you can do so. It is not necessary to avoid pregnancy.
This information is provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is the official source for information on COVID-19 vaccines in the United States. For more information, talk to your doctor or call the CDC: 1-800-232-4636. Visit https://www.vacunas.gov/ or send a text message with your zip code to the number 822862 (VACUNA).
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This is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $8,105,547 with 0% percentage financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.