Wanting a baby? Have the COVID jab, say experts

It comes after a number of false online rumours that the coronavirus vaccine can affect peoples fertility

Author: Owen ArandsPublished 6th May 2021
Last updated 6th May 2021

Experts in Liverpool are urging women who may be wanting to start a family, not be put off having the COVID vaccine.

It's in a bid to dispel baseless rumours that having the jab can affect peoples immunity, the claims have been described as "total rubbish".

Professor Nick Beeching is from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, he said:

"There have been these peculiar rumours spread through social media, that vaccines might reduce your fertility."

"When I first read that, I thought, I can't believe this, this is just rubbish. There are no grounds for it whatsoever. It's come from nowhere."

"I can't think of any vaccine that actually directly affects fertility."

"There's no evidence from animal studies, and humans are at the end of the day, of any damage to babies born to animals that have been vaccinated."

"So that experiment has been done a long time ago and obviously, a lot of people have been immunised and not realised that they were about to get pregnant, if you see what I mean and, as far as we know, there's been no evidence for any problems in them."

"There's no theoretical reason, actually, why the vaccine should interfere with the baby."

"The vaccines that are recommended, either for women who might get pregnant or want to get pregnant or are pregnant, are the Pfizer vaccine and the Madonna one."

"These are the new mRNA vaccines where there's no active ingredient that might go across the placenta or affect fertility."

"So they are absolutely safe. Unfortunately, we are way beyond that stage in my family, but if my wife was trying to get pregnant, I'd have no hesitation in her having the vaccine."

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