Covid-19 Research

Research Article

Vaccination with either mRNA or Vector-Based COVID-19 Vaccine has no Detectable Effect on Sperm Parameters

Journal of Biomedical Research & Environmental Sciences article abstract with citation details, DOI, publication dates, subject areas, full text links, and references.

View DOI Submit Manuscript

Article Details

Publication record, authors, dates, abstract, and full text access.

Open Access
Article Type Research Article
Subject Medicine Group
OCLC JBRES Record
Philippos Edimiris*, Cornelius Doehmen, Lisa Mueller, Marcel Andree, Dunja Maria Baston-Buest, Sebastian Buest, Ortwin Adams, Jan-Steffen Kruessel and Alexandra Petra Bielfeld
Issue: Volume3-Issue9
Pages: 1076-1081
Received: 2022-09-11
Accepted: 2022-09-21
Published: 2022-09-22

Abstract

Background: With the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021, concerns arose regarding their impact on male fertility. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of mRNA- and vector-based COVID-19 vaccination on male fertility by analyzing sperm parameters in subjects with unrestricted and restricted fertility.

Methods: In this prospective self before-after control study at a single University-based Infertility Center in Duesseldorf, Germany, a total of 25 male subjects were recruited, who were scheduled to receive their first vaccination against COVID-19 between January and August 2021. Semen samples were obtained before and after the first COVID-19 vaccination to perform an analysis of semen quality according to the 2010 World Health Organization guideline. Main outcome measures were ejaculate volume, sperm concentration, total sperm number, percentage of sperm motility and sperm morphology.

Results: There were no significant changes in sperm parameters before and after the vaccination.
Conclusion: Both, mRNA and vector-based COVID-19 vaccination had no short-term effect on sperm parameters. Therefore, an influence of COVID-19 vaccination on male fertility appears to be very unlikely.

FullText HTML FullText PDF DOI: 10.37871/jbres1558 Crossmark

Certificate of Publication

Certificate of Publication

Copyright

© 2022 Edimiris P, et al. Distributed under Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 Creative CommonsAttribution

How to cite this article

Edimiris P, Doehmen C, Mueller L, Andree M, Baston-Buest DM, Buest S, Adams O, Kruessel JS, Bielfeld AP. Vaccination with either mRNA or Vector-Based COVID-19 Vaccine has no Detectable Effect on Sperm Parameters. J Biomed Res Environ Sci. 2022 Sep 21; 3(9): 1076-1081. doi: 10.37871/jbres1558, Article ID: JBRES1558, Available at: https://www.jelsciences.com/articles/jbres1558.pdf

Subject area(s)

GynecologyReproductive MedicinePublic Health

References

  1. WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard [Internet]. 2022.
  2. Gacci M, Coppi M, Baldi E, Sebastianelli A, Zaccaro C, Morselli S, Pecoraro A, Manera A, Nicoletti R, Liaci A, Bisegna C, Gemma L, Giancane S, Pollini S, Antonelli A, Lagi F, Marchiani S, Dabizzi S, Degl'Innocenti S, Annunziato F, Maggi M, Vignozzi L, Bartoloni A, Rossolini GM, Serni S. Semen impairment and occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 virus in semen after recovery from COVID-19. Hum Reprod. 2021 May 17;36(6):1520-1529. doi: 10.1093/humrep/deab026. PMID: 33522572; PMCID: PMC7953947.
  3. Diaz P, Reddy P, Ramasahayam R, Kuchakulla M, Ramasamy R. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy linked to increased internet search queries for side effects on fertility potential in the initial rollout phase following Emergency Use Authorization. Andrologia. 2021 Oct;53(9):e14156. doi: 10.1111/and.14156. Epub 2021 Jun 28. PMID: 34181273; PMCID: PMC8420403.
  4. Baden LR, El Sahly HM, Essink B, Kotloff K, Frey S, Novak R, Diemert D, Spector SA, Rouphael N, Creech CB, McGettigan J, Khetan S, Segall N, Solis J, Brosz A, Fierro C, Schwartz H, Neuzil K, Corey L, Gilbert P, Janes H, Follmann D, Marovich M, Mascola J, Polakowski L, Ledgerwood J, Graham BS, Bennett H, Pajon R, Knightly C, Leav B, Deng W, Zhou H, Han S, Ivarsson M, Miller J, Zaks T; COVE Study Group. Efficacy and Safety of the mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine. N Engl J Med. 2021 Feb 4;384(5):403-416. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2035389. Epub 2020 Dec 30. PMID: 33378609; PMCID: PMC7787219.
  5. Polack FP, Thomas SJ, Kitchin N, Absalon J, Gurtman A, Lockhart S, Perez JL, Pérez Marc G, Moreira ED, Zerbini C, Bailey R, Swanson KA, Roychoudhury S, Koury K, Li P, Kalina WV, Cooper D, Frenck RW Jr, Hammitt LL, Türeci Ö, Nell H, Schaefer A, Ünal S, Tresnan DB, Mather S, Dormitzer PR, Şahin U, Jansen KU, Gruber WC; C4591001 Clinical Trial Group. Safety and Efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine. N Engl J Med. 2020 Dec 31;383(27):2603-2615. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2034577. Epub 2020 Dec 10. PMID: 33301246; PMCID: PMC7745181.
  6. Barda S, Laskov I, Grisaru D, Lehavi O, Kleiman S, Wenkert A, Azem F, Hauser R, Michaan N. The impact of COVID-19 vaccine on sperm quality. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2022 Jul;158(1):116-120. doi: 10.1002/ijgo.14135. Epub 2022 Feb 26. PMID: 35128663; PMCID: PMC9087610.
  7. Gonzalez DC, Nassau DE, Khodamoradi K, Ibrahim E, Blachman-Braun R, Ory J, Ramasamy R. Sperm Parameters Before and After COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination. JAMA. 2021 Jul 20;326(3):273-274. doi: 10.1001/jama.2021.9976. PMID: 34137808; PMCID: PMC8293015.
  8. Reschini M, Pagliardini L, Boeri L, Piazzini F, Bandini V, Fornelli G, Dolci C, Cermisoni GC, Viganò P, Somigliana E, Coccia ME, Papaleo E. COVID-19 Vaccination Does Not Affect Reproductive Health Parameters in Men. Front Public Health. 2022 Feb 2;10:839967. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.839967. PMID: 35186854; PMCID: PMC8847439.
  9. Safrai M, Herzberg S, Imbar T, Reubinoff B, Dior U, Ben-Meir A. The BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 vaccine does not impair sperm parameters. Reprod Biomed Online. 2022 Apr;44(4):685-688. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2022.01.008. Epub 2022 Jan 31. PMID: 35279377; PMCID: PMC8801893.
  10. World Health Organization. WHO laboratory manual for the examination and processing of human semen [Internet]. World Health Organization. 2010.
  11. Natali I, Muratori M, Sarli V, Vannuccini M, Cipriani S, Niccoli L, Giachini C. Scoring human sperm morphology using Testsimplets and Diff-Quik slides. Fertil Steril. 2013 Apr;99(5):1227-1232.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2012.11.047. Epub 2013 Jan 29. PMID: 23375198.
  12. Müller L, Andrée M, Moskorz W, Drexler I, Walotka L, Grothmann R, Ptok J, Hillebrandt J, Ritchie A, Rabl D, Ostermann PN, Robitzsch R, Hauka S, Walker A, Menne C, Grutza R, Timm J, Adams O, Schaal H. Age-dependent Immune Response to the Biontech/Pfizer BNT162b2 Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination. Clin Infect Dis. 2021 Dec 6;73(11):2065-2072. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciab381. PMID: 33906236; PMCID: PMC8135422.
  13. RKI - Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 - Digitales Impfquotenmonitoring zur COVID-19-Impfung. 2022.
  14. Lifshitz D, Haas J, Lebovitz O, Raviv G, Orvieto R, Aizer A. Does mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine detrimentally affect male fertility, as reflected by semen analysis? Reprod Biomed Online. 2022 Jan;44(1):145-149. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2021.09.021. Epub 2021 Oct 4. PMID: 34815157; PMCID: PMC8489287.
  15. Orta OR, Hatch EE, Regan AK, Perkins R, Wesselink AK, Willis SK, Mikkelsen EM, Rothman KJ, Wise LA. A prospective study of influenza vaccination and time to pregnancy. Vaccine. 2020 Jun 2;38(27):4246-4251. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.04.054. Epub 2020 May 11. PMID: 32409134; PMCID: PMC7360345.
  16. Catherino WH, Levi A, Kao TC, Leondires MP, McKeeby J, Segars JH. Anthrax vaccine does not affect semen parameters, embryo quality, or pregnancy outcome in couples with a vaccinated male military service member. Fertil Steril. 2005 Feb;83(2):480-3. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2004.07.965. PMID: 15705399.
  17. Jacobson IG, Gumbs GR, Sevick CJ, Smith TC, Ryan MA. Smallpox vaccination is not associated with infertility in a healthy young adult population. Hum Vaccin. 2008 May-Jun;4(3):224-8. doi: 10.4161/hv.4.3.5436. Epub 2010 May 17. PMID: 18382140.
  18. Garolla A, De Toni L, Bottacin A, Valente U, De Rocco Ponce M, Di Nisio A, Foresta C. Human Papillomavirus Prophylactic Vaccination improves reproductive outcome in infertile patients with HPV semen infection: a retrospective study. Sci Rep. 2018 Jan 17;8(1):912. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-19369-z. PMID: 29343824; PMCID: PMC5772512.
  19. Donders GGG, Bosmans E, Reumers J, Donders F, Jonckheere J, Salembier G, Stern N, Jacquemyn Y, Ombelet W, Depuydt CE. Sperm quality and absence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in semen after COVID-19 infection: a prospective, observational study and validation of the SpermCOVID test. Fertil Steril. 2022 Feb;117(2):287-296. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2021.10.022. Epub 2021 Dec 20. PMID: 34937665; PMCID: PMC8685303.
  20. Aksak T, Satar DA, Bağci R, Gülteki N EO, Coşkun A, Demi Rdelen U. Investigation of the effect of COVID-19 on sperm count, motility, and morphology. J Med Virol. 2022 Jul 1:10.1002/jmv.27971. doi: 10.1002/jmv.27971. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35778273; PMCID: PMC9349731.
  21. Holtmann N, Edimiris P, Andree M, Doehmen C, Baston-Buest D, Adams O, Kruessel JS, Bielfeld AP. Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 in human semen-a cohort study. Fertil Steril. 2020 Aug;114(2):233-238. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2020.05.028. Epub 2020 May 29. PMID: 32650948; PMCID: PMC7256599.
  22. Andrews N, Tessier E, Stowe J, Gower C, Kirsebom F, Simmons R, Gallagher E, Thelwall S, Groves N, Dabrera G, Myers R, Campbell CNJ, Amirthalingam G, Edmunds M, Zambon M, Brown K, Hopkins S, Chand M, Ladhani SN, Ramsay M, Lopez Bernal J. Duration of Protection against Mild and Severe Disease by Covid-19 Vaccines. N Engl J Med. 2022 Jan 27;386(4):340-350. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2115481. Epub 2022 Jan 12. PMID: 35021002; PMCID: PMC8781262.
  23. Ma Q, Liu J, Liu Q, Kang L, Liu R, Jing W, Wu Y, Liu M. Global Percentage of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infections Among the Tested Population and Individuals With Confirmed COVID-19 Diagnosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Dec 1;4(12):e2137257. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.37257. PMID: 34905008; PMCID: PMC8672238.
  24. Grant R, Dub T, Andrianou X, Nohynek H, Wilder-Smith A, Pezzotti P, Fontanet A. SARS-CoV-2 population-based seroprevalence studies in Europe: a scoping review. BMJ Open. 2021 Apr 1;11(4):e045425. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045425. PMID: 33795310; PMCID: PMC8021754.
Publish with JBRES — Peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary Open Access with rapid review, DOI, and global visibility.
Double-Blind CrossRef DOI Discoverable
Submit Manuscript Membership