Pfizer and Moderna vaccines may increase sperm count in men, study found

Pfizer and Moderna (Messenger Rna) vaccines can increase the amount of sperm produced by menrevealed a new study.

Researchers at the University of Miami studied the sperm count in men recently vaccinated with two of three inoculants available in the United States and compared the results with their sperm count before they were inoculated.

They found no reduction in sperm count for the men who had received one or two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna coronavirus vaccine, they noted, and the final sperm count even increased.

U.S. scientists said the findings counter a false narrative that has spread across anti-vaccine social media pages that COVID-19 vaccines affect fertility..

For the study, published in the prestigious scientific journal JAMA, the team recruited 45 men between the ages of 18 and 50, who had no known cases of COVID-19 and had no symptoms of the virus. After two to seven days of abstinence, and before receiving their first dose of vaccine, the men were tested for semen. Their sperm count was tested again 70 days after receiving the second dose of either of the messenger RNA vaccines.

The average sperm count increased from 26 million cells per milliliter of fluid (m / ml) to 30 m / ml, an increase of 15%.

During this time, the average sperm count increased from 36 µm / ml to 44 µm / ml, an increase of 22%.

The largest increase in sperm count was around 90 percent, and the biggest drop was around 20 percent. Sperm volume and motility also increased significantly.

However, the increases may not be due to the vaccine, as they are within normal fluctuations in sperm count, they warned.

Too the few days of abstinence that the men experienced before being evaluated for the study likely increased their sperm count.

The researchers said they were convinced the data shows the vaccines do not reduce sperm count.

On the other hand, a German study carried out earlier this year found that the coronavirus caused the semen to swell, were less mobile and more likely to show signs of rust.

The sperm concentration in men with COVID has also dropped by more than 500%.

Versions that COVID-19 vaccine causes low sperm count have surfaced on social media amid a slew of false claims about vaccine side effects.

In addition to claims that vaccines cause low sperm count in men and due to reduced fertility or complete infertility, many have also mistakenly claimed that the vaccine causes infertility in women.

Scientists have worked to debunk these claims, but the research can usually take long periods of time.

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