There have been many disputes regarding fertility with COVID and the vaccines. This is an important issue because a generation ahead will be counted on what has been happening and decided in these days. There are still few studies in this field and most authorities only weight on the mandated vaccines and doubted antivirals as the reliable solutions without even realizing that none of us have the experience to overcome this disease including the vaccines’ side effects, waning, and the deaths because of the vaccine itself.
In COVID Disease
A study1 with 262 men samples showed the progesterone deficiency in males with the highest part in patients with COVID compared to non–COVID respiratory tract infection and age-matched controls. Serum luteinizing hormone (LH) levels and serum prolactin levels were higher in patients with COVID and patients with non–COVID respiratory tract infection than control cases. COVID may alternate male reproductive hormones. More serious COVID causes more reduction in testosterone levels and prolongs hospitalization period.
Excess of prolactin can cause the production of breast milk in men and in women who are not pregnant or breastfeeding. Leydig cells produce testosterone in the presence of LH. Men with high testosterone can lead to more aggressive and irritable behavior, more acne and oily skin, sleep disorder and an increase in muscle mass2. With too much testosterone pumping through the system, patient may have a lower sperm count (due to decreased sperm production) and shrunken testicles. Elevated testosterone will raise your “bad” cholesterol levels, and can thus lead to heart health issues – potentially resulting in a heart attack, cardiovascular disease, or stroke. Men with genetically higher testosterone are at a much higher risk for developing blood clots, heart disease, and a variety of other cardiovascular issues.
In COVID Vaccines
Some COVID vaccines use the S1 proteins alone, the whole S protein, M, N, and whole S proteins, etc. It is interesting to read many debates about COVID vaccines impact on human reproductive system i.e. the two groups (pro- and anti-vaccine) bring in arguments with few and short studies of vaccine effects in human reproductive system and pregnancies.
SARS CoV2 Spike proteins show high expression with two human genes3; GOLGA7 and ZDHHC5. For GOLGA7, those high tissue expressions (related with S proteins) are located in bronchus, cervix, uterine, esophagus, nasopharynx, salivary gland, testis, and thyroid gland. While for ZDHHC5, the high expressions are in colon, endometrium, fallopian tube, gallbladder, lung, parathyroid gland, and placenta.
Endometrium is the innermost lining layer of the uterus. During pregnancy, the glands and blood vessels in the endometrium further increase in size and number, the embryo after the conception implants into the endometrium. Besides the S proteins, the high expression in endometrium is also related with E proteins, M proteins, N proteins, most Nsps and Orfs. In testis, Leydig cells, fallopian tube (the primary function of the fallopian tubes is to transport eggs from the ovary to the uterus) and placenta, some high expressions are found in S proteins, M proteins, E proteins, N proteins, few Nsps and some Orfs.
Trostle4 et al. reported a study about 424 pregnant women who received an mRNA COVID vaccine during pregnancy. The team showed:
- In terms of the pregnancy outcomes, 9 women had spontaneous abortions, 3 terminated their pregnancies, and 327 have ongoing pregnancies.
- Of the women included, 85 delivered liveborn infants. There were no stillbirths in the population.
- Of the 9 spontaneous abortions, 8 occurred during the first trimester at a range of 6 to 13 weeks’ gestation. There was 1 second trimester loss. The rate of spontaneous abortion among women vaccinated in the first trimester was 6.5%. If the rate is counted from the not ongoing pregnancies, the number will be 9.6%.
- The 327 women with ongoing pregnancies: a total of 113 (34.6%) women, initiated vaccination during the first trimester, 178 (54.4%) initiated vaccination during the second trimester, and 36 (11.0%) during the third trimester. Following the vaccination, 2 fetuses (0.6%) developed intrauterine growth restriction, whereas 5 (1.5%) were diagnosed with anomalies.
- Of the women who delivered, 18.8% were diagnosed with a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy. The rate of preterm birth was 5.9%. One preterm delivery was medically indicated, whereas the remaining 3 were spontaneous. A total of 15.3% of neonates required admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Of the NICU admissions, 61.5% were because of hypoglycemia or an evaluation for sepsis. Other reasons for admission included prematurity, hypothermia, and transient tachypnea of the newborn. Of all the neonates, 12.2% were small for gestational age (SGA) per the World Health Organization standards.”
These two studies from the few COVID and the vaccines studies with bigger number of participants of the fertility and reproductive system, show that different options should be considered in dealing with COVID i.e. early treatment and prophylaxis. For the vaccine regulation, it is better not to push it as a mandatory, as the numbers of the side effects exist. Moreover, the new vaccines have no data on the ongoing developments of the born babies until they reach certain stable stage of motoric and sensory growths.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC7691132/
https://www.everlywell.com/blog/testosterone/unhealthy-testosterone-levels-men/
https://www.proteinatlas.org/humanproteome/sars-cov-2
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589933321001592#tbl0002