SoCal doctor sets the record straight on COVID-19 vaccine and fertility

Dr. Cardillo urged women who have any questions about this topic to consult with their obstetrician gynecologist before turning to Google.

ByABC7.com staff KABC logo
Tuesday, May 4, 2021
Does the COVID-19 vaccine affect fertility? Doctor debunks common myth
Does the COVID-19 vaccine affect fertility? Dr. Cardillo debunks this coronavirus vaccine myth regarding the vaccine's effect on a woman's ability to get pregnant.

There are many concerns on social media from women who say they're avoiding getting the COVID-19 vaccine because they fear it might affect fertility.

ABC7 asked Dr. Anthony Cardillo, an ER specialist and CEO of Mend Urgent Care in Los Angeles, to help set the record straight on this misinformation spreading online.

Does the COVID vaccine affect fertility?

"There's been no uptick in the amount of infertility in the last year nor has there been an uptick in the number of miscarriages. So it really is unfair and misinformation because we have no science to substantiate that it is true," said Cardillo.

"There have been many women that were enrolled in the clinical trials, as well as many women who have actually gotten the vaccine since it was rolled out who have since become pregnant. They're in their first and second trimester now without any ill outcomes to suggest that the vaccine is actually causing miscarriages or infertility," he continued.

But if there's no science to back this up, where did the rumor come from?

"This misinformation started out of Germany when a group of researchers tried to postulate that there was a protein on the placenta that was mildly similar - mildly similar - to the spike protein and they theorized that therefore the immune system would attack the placenta," Dr. Cardillo explains and emphasizes that it "was only theoretical."

Dr. Cardillo urged women who have any questions about this topic to consult with their obstetrician gynecologist before turning to Google.

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