No proof COVID-19 vaccines affect menstruation, fertility– WHO
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said there is no scientific evidence to proof that COVID-19 vaccine can affect menstruation or interfere with fertility in both men and women.
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The organization’s chief scientist, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, during an interview session tagged ‘Science in 5’, said there is nothing scientifically to come in the way of a menstruating woman taking the vaccine, apart from the fact that, you know, she may feel a bit tired.
“But if that’s the date on which you have a vaccine appointment and you happen to have your periods, there’s absolutely no problem in going ahead and getting the vaccine.
‘’There is absolutely no scientific evidence or truth that vaccines can interfere with fertility, either in men or in women, because what vaccines do is stimulate an immune response against that particular protein or antigen of that virus or bacteria.
“So in this case, the COVID vaccine stimulates both antibody response and a cell-mediated immune response against the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. So, there is no way in which they could interfere with the functioning of the reproductive organs in either men or women. So, I think people can rest assured that these vaccines in no way interfere with fertility,” she said.
Swaminathan noted that women who have given birth and who are breastfeeding their babies can take the vaccine when it becomes available to them.
“There is no risk at all because all the vaccines that are being used presently, none of them have the live virus in it. And so there’s no risk of transmission through the breast milk. In fact, the antibodies that the mother has can go through the breast milk to the baby and may only serve maybe to protect the baby a little bit.
“But there’s absolutely no harm. It’s very safe. And so women who are breastfeeding can definitely take the vaccines that are currently available,” the scientist said.
MTO/Punch
