Getting a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine did not seem to impact pregnancy rates for women trying to conceive through in vitro fertilization (IVF) or ovarian response to treatment, suggests a new study published in Fertility and Sterility in a preproof version.

The retrospective study enrolled 200 vaccinated women trying to conceive with IVF treatments. They were compared with 200 unvaccinated patients of similar age (average 36 years) who had not had COVID-19 infection. All the women were undergoing IVF treatments from January to April 2021 and all the vaccinated women had received two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at least 2 weeks prior to ovarian stimulation. The average number of oocytes retrieved and clinical pregnancy rates were compared between the two groups.

The researchers noted no significant difference by vaccination status in the number retrieved per cycle - 10.63 (vaccinated) vs. 10.72 (unvaccinated). Additionally, there appeared to be no difference in the clinical pregnancy rates following fresh embryo transfers. The rate among 128 vaccinated women was 32.8% compared to 33.1% among the 133 unvaccinated women. Overall, 66 patients in the study group and 47 in the control group underwent freeze-all cycles to preserve fertility and fertilization rates were found to be similar, at 55.43% in the vaccinated group and 54.29% in the unvaccinated group… (Medscape)