‘No infertility link to Covid-19 vaccines’: Swiss drugs regulator

Data from 10 countries and Switzerland has failed to throw up a concrete connection between mRNA vaccinations and infertility, says Swissmedic. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Infertility is more likely caused by coronavirus infection than mRNA Covid-19 vaccinations, said the Swiss federal drugs regulator, Swissmedic.

Swissmedic compared data with counterparts in 10 other countries, covering a population of 800 million people and some having higher vaccinations rates than Switzerland.

“The available data and analyses provide no statistical evidence of a causal relationship between Covid-19 vaccination and the decline in births,” Swissmedic stated on FridayExternal link.

“Neither ongoing authorisation studies nor global market surveillance have given Swissmedic any scientific indicators that mRNA vaccines to prevent Covid-19 could impair human fertility.”

The evidence was collected from such countries as the United States, Britain, Japan, Sweden, Germany and Spain. Some countries noted a decline in fertility rates during the course of the pandemic but before vaccines were rolled out.

Declining fertility rates were recorded in Sweden and German-speaking countries at the start of this year, following a peak in 2021. But one possibility is that couples have postponed decisions to have children until the effects of vaccinations become clear, Swissmedic said.

In general, large variations in fertility rates in the examined countries made it impossible to draw concrete conclusions, the drugs regulator stated.

However, the results look more conclusive when analysing the fertility effects on men who were infected with coronavirus. “There is evidence of reduced sperm production, erectile dysfunction or testosterone deficiency in some men. The post-infection likelihood of pregnancy dropped swiftly in some cases.”

“It took at least 60 days for these men’s fertility to reach the same level as that of men who had not been infected.”

In 2021, the Swiss health authorities recommended coronavirus vaccines for pregnant women, saying the risk of miscarriage was greater if expectant mothers caught Covid-19.