5 Reasons Why We Suggest Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine

The heat is on and cases are rising in the unvaccinated population right here in Orange County which is trickling over to the vaccinated population as a result.

Why?

Well, we know that no vaccine is 100% effective in preventing viral illness, and although vaccines do prevent severe cases of COVID-19, it’s still possible that some fully vaccinated people will still get COVID-19 as it continues to be spread.

In our continued efforts to educate, here are some of the many reasons why we recommend that anyone who is eligible to receive the vaccine consider getting vaccinated, if they have not already, against COVID-19—even while pregnant or trying to conceive.

1. It Protects You From Getting COVID-19 AND It Protects Others From Getting Getting It, Too: A recent article in JAMA (the Journal of the American Medical Association) published by our own UC Irvine Health (Gohil et al, JAMA 2021) showed a significant decrease in both symptomatic and asymptomatic infection rate after vaccination, indicating its efficacy in not only in preventing COVID-19, but also ability to unknowingly transmit it to others.

2. Vaccination Could Save Your Life: Regardless of the type of vaccine, real world effectiveness has shown that COVID-19 vaccines can decrease risk of severe infection by up to 90%.

3. There’s NO Data Showing That Any COVID-19 Vaccines Affect Fertility or Make You Infertile: In fact, according to a recently-published fact sheet published by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), "Vaccination either pre-conception or early during pregnancy is the best way to reduce maternal/fetal complications."

• COVID-19 Vaccines Do NOT Affect Semen Parameters Post Vaccination: Another JAMA paper assessed sperm parameters before and after mRNA vaccine administration, specifically to address concerns about fertility. In this University of Miami study of sperm parameters before and after two doses of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna), there were no significant decreases in any sperm parameters among the cohort of healthy men studied. They concluded, “Because the vaccines contain mRNA and not the live virus, it is unlikely that the vaccine would affect sperm parameters.”

4. Embryo Implantation Rates Are NOT Affected By Vaccination: Another study from a reputable journal—that specifically looked a transfers—found that, “Reports claiming that COVID-19 vaccines or illness cause female sterility are unfounded.”

5. If You’re Pregnant, Vaccination Could Protect Your Baby: The mRNA vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) have been shown NOT to cross into the placenta, however the protective antibodies that your body creates in response to the vaccine can cross the placenta (and breast milk) and provide safe protection to your newborn from COVID-19 once they are born.

Still have questions? We encourage you to discuss with your doctor and weigh the facts from reputable sources.

Author

Dr. Nidhee Sachdev Nidhee Sachdev, MD has trained among the most prestigious and diverse medical programs in the country, including fellowship training in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the prestigious New York University (NYU) Langone Fertility Center in New York City where she conducted research on preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) and the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she earned the academic distinction of chief resident in obstetrics and gynecology, and trained under a top recurrent pregnancy loss expert. Dr. Sachdev is passionate about providing individualized, collaborative patient care. She started her medical career right here in Orange County, earning her Doctor of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine.