The Safety and Efficacy of inactivated COVID-19 vaccination in couples undergoing assisted reproductive technology: A prospective cohort study

Juan Yang; Ying-Ling Yao; Xing-Yu Lv; Li-Hong Geng; Yue Wang; Enoch Appiah Adu-Gyamfi; Xue-Jiao Wang; Yue Qian; Ming-Xing Chen; Zhao-Hui Zhong; Ren-Yan Li; Qi Wan; Yu-Bin Ding

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.126635

The Safety and Efficacy of inactivated COVID-19 vaccination in couples undergoing assisted reproductive technology: A prospective cohort study

Vaccine. 2024 Dec 20:45:126635. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.126635. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Juan Yang¹, Ying-Ling Yao², Xing-Yu Lv¹, Li-Hong Geng¹, Yue Wang³, Enoch Appiah Adu-Gyamfi⁴, Xue-Jiao Wang¹, Yue Qian³, Ming-Xing Chen², Zhao-Hui Zhong³, Ren-Yan Li⁵, Qi Wan⁶, Yu-Bin Ding⁷

Affiliations

¹ Sichuan Jinxin Xinan Women & Children's Hospital, Chengdu 610011, Sichuan, China.
² Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women and Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 401147, China; Joint International Research Laboratory of Reproduction and Development of the Ministry of Education of China, School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China.
³ Joint International Research Laboratory of Reproduction and Development of the Ministry of Education of China, School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Albany, New York 12144, USA.
⁵ NHC Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Reproductive Health, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Reproductive Health, Chongqing Population and Family Planning Science and Technology Research Institute, Chongqing 400020, China; Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Agricultural Biogenomics, Changsha Medical University, Changsha, Hunan 410219, China. Electronic address: lirenyan2011@sina.cn.
⁶ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, West China Second Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China; Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Ministry of Education, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China. Electronic address: wanqi123@163.com.
⁷ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women and Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 401147, China; Joint International Research Laboratory of Reproduction and Development of the Ministry of Education of China, School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China; Department of Pharmacology, Academician Workstation, Changsha Medical University, Changsha 410219, China. Electronic address: dingyb@cqmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 39708514
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.126635

Abstract

Background: The safety of the COVID-19 inactivated vaccine on pregnancy outcomes in couples undergoing assisted reproductive technology remains uncertain due to limited and speculative evidence. Existing studies primarily focus on the vaccination status of females, with scant information available regarding the vaccination status of male partners. Moreover, there is minimal research tracking live birth outcomes.

Objective(s): The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 inactivated vaccine administration on the outcomes of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles in infertile couples in China.

Methods: This prospective cohort study involved couples undergoing IVF treatment at Sichuan Jinxin Xinan Women & Children's Hospital from August 2021 to September 2022. Based on whether they received vaccination before ovarian stimulation, the couples were divided into the vaccination group and the non-vaccination group. We compared the laboratory parameters and pregnancy outcomes between the two groups.

Results: After performing propensity score matching (PSM), we observed similar live birth rates (41.23% vs. 44.08%, P = 0.555), clinical pregnancy rates (52.61% vs. 54.98%, P = 0.625), biochemical pregnancy (62.56% vs. 63.98%, P = 0.762), and ongoing pregnancy rates (49.76% vs. 51.18%, P = 0.770) between the vaccinated and unvaccinated women. Also, no significant disparities were found in terms of embryo development and laboratory parameters between the groups. Moreover, male vaccination had no impact on patients' pregnancy outcomes in assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments (all P > 0.05). Additionally, there were no observable effects of vaccination on embryo development and pregnancy outcomes among couples undergoing ART (all P > 0.05).

Conclusion(s): The findings suggest that COVID-19 vaccination did not have a significant effect on patients undergoing IVF/ICSI with fresh embryo transfer. Therefore, it is recommended that couples should receive COVID-19 vaccination as scheduled to help mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; IVF; fresh embryo transfer; inactivated vaccine; infertile; ovarian stimulation.