The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday categorically stated that there is no scientific evidence found linking COVID-19 vaccination with infertility in men and women. Dispelling rumours against the approved vaccines, the government said that COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all lactating women.
“None of the available vaccines affects the fertility of either men or women, as all vaccines and their constituents are tested first on animals and later in humans to assess if they have any such side effects. Vaccines are authorised for use only after their safety and efficacy is assured,” the health ministry said in its statement.
In an attempt to educate and assure the people regarding the Covid vaccines, the union health ministry quoted Dr NK Arora’s interview in which he had said that misinformation was also created during the administering of Polio vaccine in India and abroad that children who are getting the vaccine may face infertility in the future. Dr Arora is the Chairperson of COVID-19 Working Group of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI. While countering fears and allegations, he had assured that all vaccines go through intense scientific researches and none of the vaccines have this sort of side-effect.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Dr Paul said Covishield, Covaxin, Sputnik V and Moderna, which have been approved by the government, are safe for lactating mothers and pregnant women. He, however, said that guidelines regarding inoculation of COVID vaccine jabs on pregnant women will be released soon.
Touching upon the infertility issue, the Niti Aayog Member asserted that the four vaccines have no association with infertility in men and women.
Meanwhile, in an interview with PTI, Dr Paul said that there is no scientific data so far to establish that the new Delta plus variant of coronavirus is highly transmissible or reduces vaccine efficacy.
“The so-called Delta plus variant exhibits an additional mutation in the Delta variant and since this is a new variant, scientific knowledge is still in the early stage.
“Whether this additional mutation in the Delta variant is associated with increased transmissibility or excess severity of disease, or any adverse effect on vaccine efficacy is currently not established and we should wait for this information to emerge.
“And we should wait for these aspects to be studied systematically,” he said.
