Does the COVID-19 vaccine affect the fertility of children or adolescents? The experts conclude that

COVID-19 Vaccines

As childhood vaccination against COVID-19 progresses in the age group 5-11 years, it is normal that many parents may have doubts. And those related to fertility tend to be one of the most common.

It is true that the coronavirus pandemic in which we are still immersed has been very hard on many families. The abrupt closure of schools and schools a year and a half ago was joined by the obligation to wear face masks from a certain age. Coupled with the emotional confusion of the different measures that, in the end, ended up generating a difficult environment to deal with, mainly for parents and children.

Earlier this year, the introduction of the long-awaited COVID-19 vaccines became an incredible step in the fight against the pandemic. However, since his arrival, a lot of information has been circulating about the possible side effects of vaccines, mostly false.

Now that children between the ages of 5 and 11 can be vaccinated, the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP) in Spain, as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC) in the United States, urge and recommend that parents vaccinate their children.

But it's normal to feel some apprehension about how this new vaccine could affect the health of our children, and in the future, especially if we've heard frightening rumors about its supposed side effects, such as the case that the Vaccine may affect the fertility of the child. What is really true about it?

What are the real concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine and fertility?

Rumors linking COVID-19 vaccines to alleged fertility problems began to swirl in late 2020, when a screenshot claiming Pfizer's head of research said the vaccine caused sterilization in women began to go viral.

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As experts say, given that topics associated with reproductive health and fertility in general tend to be incredibly emotional, it's only natural that these false anti-vaccination claims began to spread rapidly across the internet from the start, deterring even some of the most vulnerable populations to receive what, for the moment, has become the only effective tool to prevent the risk of severe forms of COVID-19.

As was shown a few days later, the Pfizer CEO actually made no such claim. And originally, he relied on a statement that the vaccine contains a spike protein, called syncytin-1, which would be essential for the creation of the placenta.

As we have explained on several occasions, the vaccine works by training the body to attack the virus that causes COVID-19. And, at the time, the concern was that the body was supposedly also being "trained" to attack this spike protein. However, COVID-19 vaccines do not contain syncytin-1, so this would be a moot concern, to say the least.

Basically, this means that since there is no significant similarity in structure between the spike protein and the placental proteins, there is no risk of cross-reaction between the antibodies against the spike protein and the placenta.

Do COVID-19 vaccines affect hormones?

Some reports of changes in the menstrual cycle after vaccination have also fueled concerns about future infertility. Changes in the menstrual cycle usually indicate hormonal fluctuations, so it's understandable to wonder to what extent vaccinations might affect fertility.

Hormones influence the timing of the first menstruation (menarche), and the way children develop and grow. In fact, infertility is often related to hormonal imbalance.

In our country, the tenth Pharmacovigilance Report on COVID-19 Vaccines, published on November 24, 2021, concluded that there is insufficient evidence that any of the vaccines against COVID-19 are associated with disorders periods, in relation to the Janssen vaccine, while in another previous report, the experts also ruled out this relationship with the other vaccines.

In this sense, experts believe that the stress of the pandemic itself could be what is really affecting menstrual cycles, rather than the vaccine. For this reason, specialists are clear: there is nothing to suggest that COVID-19 vaccines can affect the fertility of children, especially in the future.

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Christian Pérez

CEO and Editor of Contents at Gaia Media Magazines, specializing in maternity, health, science and nutrition.