Introduction:
Previous studies have reported on SARS-CoV-2 vaccine short-term (up to 6 months) safety in women of reproductive age, with no adverse effects on fertility and reproductive function, while data on longer intervals between vaccination and IVF treatment remains scarce.
Aim:
To evaluate elective oocyte cryopreservation (EOC) outcomes in women 3 to 13 months after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and assess whether different time intervals between vaccination and ovarian hyperstimulation impact these outcomes.
Materials and Methods:
This retrospective cohort study, conducted at the Hadassah Medical Center In-vitro Fertilization unit, included 255 EOC cycles of vaccinated and unvaccinated patients, without previous infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, between January 2019 and January 2022. Two control groups – pre-pandemic (January 2019 – February 2020) and intra-pandemic (January 2021 – January 2022) unvaccinated groups were compared to the vaccinated group, further divided into three subgroups (3-6, 6-9 and 9-13 months). The primary outcome was EOC cycles outcomes - number of retrieved and mature oocytes.
Results:
The vaccinated group demonstrated comparable outcomes with regards to number of retrieved and mature oocytes compared to the pre-pandemic and intra-pandemic unvaccinated groups (12.9±7.8 vs. 13.0±8.2 and 12.5±7.4 retrieved and 10.6±6.9 vs. 9.5±6.4 and 10.1±6.3 mature oocytes, respectively; NS). Similar results were noted in a comparison between the intra-pandemic unvaccinated group and the three vaccinated subgroups. No correlation was found between the parameter of days from vaccination and cycle outcomes.
Conclusions:
The SARS-CoV-2 vaccination does not alter fertility potential, as reflected by the outcomes of elective oocytes cryopreservation procedure in young women. This is true even in a relatively long-time interval of 9 to 13 months from vaccination.