The BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 vaccine does not impair sperm parameters

Myriam Safrai; Shmuel Herzberg; Tal Imbar; Benjamin Reubinoff; Uri Dior; Assaf Ben-Meir

doi:10.1016/j.rbmo.2022.01.008

The BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 vaccine does not impair sperm parameters

Reprod Biomed Online. 2022 Apr;44(4):685-688. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2022.01.008. Epub 2022 Jan 31.

Authors

Myriam Safrai¹, Shmuel Herzberg², Tal Imbar², Benjamin Reubinoff³, Uri Dior², Assaf Ben-Meir²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, PO Box 12000, Ein-Kerem Jerusalem 9112001, Israel; In Vitro Fertilization Unit, Hadassah Medical Organization and Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Ein Kerem Jerusalem 91112102, Israel. Electronic address: myriamsafrai@gmail.com.
² In Vitro Fertilization Unit, Hadassah Medical Organization and Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Ein Kerem Jerusalem 91112102, Israel.
³ In Vitro Fertilization Unit, Hadassah Medical Organization and Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Ein Kerem Jerusalem 91112102, Israel; The Sydney and Judy Swartz Embryonic Stem Cell Research Center of The Goldyne Savad Institution of Gene Therapy, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Kalman Yaakov Man Street Jerusalem 9112001, Israel.

Abstract

Research question: Does the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine affect sperm parameters of patients with a normal or an abnormal semen analysis?

Design: Data were collected from male patients undergoing IVF treatment after completing vaccination between February 2021 and June 2021 (post-vaccine). For comparison, records of the same patients were reviewed before the vaccination (pre-vaccine) back to January 2017. Patients with azoospermia were excluded. Sperm parameters were compared between pre- and post-vaccine groups. Each patient served as self-control.

Results: Seventy-two patients were included in the study (median interquartile range [IQR] age 35.7 [33.0-43.0] years), of whom 57 had a normal semen analysis. The time between the first vaccine and the post-vaccine sperm analysis was 71.0 (40.5-104.8) days. The sperm parameters before and after the vaccination were as follows: sperm volume before 3.0 (2.0-4.0) and after 3.0 (1.6-3.9) ml, P = 0.02; sperm concentration before 26.5 (14.0-64.7) and after 31.0 (14.2-80.0) 10⁶/ml, P = 0.35; and total motile sperm count before 33.7 (9.0-66.0) and after 29 (6.0-97.5)10⁶, P = 0.96. Sub-group analyses were conducted for patients with male infertility and patients with a normal semen analysis. Neither of the sub-groups showed significant changes after vaccination.

Conclusion: Sperm parameters showed no significant changes after vaccination among men with a normal and abnormal semen analysis. Therefore, the BNT162b2 vaccine does not seem to affect sperm parameters. The preliminary results are reassuring for the entire global population, currently undergoing intense vaccination campaigns against COVID-19.

Keywords: BNT162b2 vaccine, COVID-19; Male fertility; SARS-CoV-2; Sperm.

MeSH terms

Adult
BNT162 Vaccine
COVID-19 Vaccines*
COVID-19* / prevention & control
Female
Humans
Male
RNA, Messenger
Spermatozoa

Substances

COVID-19 Vaccines
RNA, Messenger
BNT162 Vaccine