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As more people around the world receive the COVID-19 vaccine, questions continue to arise about its safety, especially for those who are pregnant or trying to conceive.
The FDA has said that, due to a lack of testing on pregnant women, it does not recommend that the vaccine be given during pregnancy at this time. But what about those who are planning to get pregnant? Should they also avoid Pfizer or Moderna vaccines?
Although experts in the UK have advised against vaccinating people who plan to become pregnant within three months of the first dose, no such recommendation has been made in the US.
Related: So There Is A COVID Vaccine, But What Does It Mean For Pregnant Women?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Women who are trying to get pregnant do not need to avoid pregnancy after receiving a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine.” The agency added that “routine pregnancy tests before COVID-19 vaccination are not recommended.”
However, recent concerns have emerged that the Pfizer vaccine could lead to infertility in women because, according to such claims, it contains a spike protein similar to the proteins that make up the placenta – the fear is that when the vaccine triggers an immune response against the spike protein, called syncytin-1, it could also attack these proteins forming the placenta.
Fortunately, health experts argue that there is no evidence that the vaccine can cause sterilization in women – the two proteins in question do not resemble each other enough for the body’s immune system to confuse them.
Ian Jones, professor of virology at the University of Reading, said syncytin-1 is “completely independent of SARS [spike] protein “and the risk of infertility is” therefore essentially fictitious “.
“Rumors that the Pfizer vaccine causes female sterilization because it contains a spike protein known as syncytin-1 are false,” University of Pittsburgh Medical Center experts said in an in-depth review myths and facts about the COVID-19 vaccine. “The vaccine does not contain this protein.”
Still others believe that the lack of evidence is not enough to allay fears that the data may eventually show an impact on fertility once it is studied more explicitly. As with advice for pregnant women, the CDC suggests that those with safety concerns should see their doctor. “If they have questions about immunization, a discussion with a healthcare professional could help them make an informed decision.
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