Should You Get the COVID Vaccine?

The COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for women who are contemplating pregnancy or who are pregnant in order to minimize risks to themselves and their pregnancy.  Available information compiled by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) can be read below or on their website.

Update No. 12-Testing and Vaccine Truths: ASRM Patient Management and Clinical Recommendations During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

Jan 19, 2021
By: ASRM
Origin: ASRM Bulletin

COVID-19 Vaccination Truths:

Widespread vaccination is critical to slowing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus, reducing COVID-19 and bringing an end to the pandemic. While vaccination will be a critical strategy in our response to the pandemic, reaching population-level immunity on a global scale will take time. It is not yet known whether the vaccine will prevent those with asymptomatic or mild infections from spreading the virus. Until sufficient herd immunity is attained (whether via acquired or natural immunity and/or or vaccine-induced immunity), effective mitigation strategies including face masks, social distancing, hand washing, and staying home when sick will remain critical elements in reducing transmission, including for those who have already been vaccinated. General COVID-19 vaccine truths include:

• Currently available mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have documented safety and efficacy in large randomized clinical trials, preventing up to 95% of severe disease.
• The known and potential benefits of these vaccines outweigh the known and potential harms of COVID-19 infection.
• Common side effects of vaccination include pain and swelling at the injection site, fever, chills, tiredness, and headache. These symptoms may persist for a few days. Side effects may be more significant following the second injection.
• Although COVID-19 variants demonstrate alterations in the spike proteins, early data suggest that mRNA vaccines may be effective against identified variants of COVID-19.
• There is a lag between vaccine administration and protection, a window during which infection can still occur, so mitigation strategies must be followed during this time. Those who have been vaccinated should continue to strictly adhere to mitigation strategies until data are available on the impact of vaccination on preventing asymptomatic and mild infection.

COVID-19 vaccine truths for patients desiring conception or who are pregnant include:

• Available data indicate that COVID-19 vaccines do not cause infertility in women or men.
• In the randomized blinded Pfizer-BioNTech trial, a similar number of women conceived after receiving the vaccine as those who received the placebo.
• The coronavirus’s spike protein and syncytin-1 (protein that mediates placental cell fusion) share small stretches of the same genetic code but are otherwise completely different in structure. The vaccine does not induce an immune reaction against the syncytin-1 placental protein.
• mRNA vaccines are taken up rapidly by muscle cells at the injection site and the mRNA is degraded in the cell once the protein is made so it does not cross the placenta.
• COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for women who are contemplating pregnancy or who are pregnant in order to minimize risks to themselves and their pregnancy