The effect of coronavirus disease 2019 immunity on frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycles outcome

Abstract

Objective To study the effect of patients' immunization following COVID-19 infection or mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine on frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET). Design A cohort retrospective study Setting Tertiary University Affiliated Medical Center Patients All consecutive patients undergoing FET cycles in our center. The study group (immune- group) consisted of patients treated during the COVID-19 pandemic (between January 2021 to August 2021), who either recovered from COVID-19 infection or received the mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. The control groups consisted of patients treated during the COVID-19 pandemic (between January 2021 to August 2021) but were not infected nor received the mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (not-immune2021 group) and those patients treated between January 2019 to August 2019 (prior to the pandemic) (not-immune2019 group). Intervention FET cycles Main outcome measures Ongoing pregnancy rates and FET cycles' characteristics. Data on patient age and variables related to infertility treatment were collected from the patient records. Results During the study periods, 428 patients underwent 672 FET cycles. The immune group consisted of 141 patients who underwent 264 FET cycles (44 in post-infection and 220 in post-vaccination), while the non-immune2021 and 2019 groups consisted of 93 and 194 patients, undergoing 125 and 283 FET cycles respectively. Patients' characteristics and the types of endometrial preparations were comparable between the study groups. Implantation rate, clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates per transfer were similar between the study groups (immune- group: post-infection and post-vaccination; not-immune2021 group; not-immune2019 group). Conclusions COVID-19 infection or vaccination did not affect patients' performance or implantation in their subsequent FET cycle.

The impact of COVID-19 vaccines on fertility-A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…After the screening process, 39 articles were considered pertinent for potential inclusion and the full texts were retrieved. Finally, 29 articles [1] , [2] , [3] , [4] , [6] , [7] , [8] , [10] , [15] , [17] , [18] , [20] ; Gonzalez et al, 2021; Huang et al, 2022; Jacobs et al, 2022; Lifshitz et al, 2022; Mohr-Sasson et al, 2022; Morris, 2021; Morris et al, 2021; Odeh‐Natour et al, 2022; Orvieto et al, 2021; Reschini et al, 2022; Rozhivanov & Mokrysheva, 2021; Safrai, Herzberg, et al, 2022; Safrai, Kremer, et al, 2022; Soysal & Yılmaz, 2022; Wesselink et al, 2022; Xia et al, 2022; Zhu et al, 2022)were included in the systematic review and 20 articles [2] , [3] , [4] , [6] , [7] , [18] , [20] ; Gonzalez et al, 2021; Huang et al, 2022; Jacobs et al, 2022; Morris, 2021; Odeh‐Natour et al, 2022; Orvieto et al, 2021; Reschini et al, 2022; Rozhivanov & Mokrysheva, 2021; Safrai, Herzberg, et al, 2022; Safrai, Kremer, et al, 2022; Soysal & Yılmaz, 2022; Xia et al, 2022; Zhu et al, 2022) in the meta-analysis ( Figure 1 ).

Figure 1 Flowchart of the screening and selection process

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Impact of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on embryo ploidy: a retrospective cohort study of 133 PGT-A cycles in China

“…Several studies to date have also assessed the IVF pregnancy outcomes following COVID-19 vaccination, with no significant differences observed in biochemical, clinical or ongoing pregnancy rates [15][16][17][34][35][36]. By analyzing euploid blastocyst transfer cycles, our cohort offers a unique opportunity to investigate independently the possible detrimental effect of vaccine-induced autoimmunity on embryo implantation and pregnancy establishment.…”

“…In addition, the history of SARS-CoV-2 infection was determined by patient self-report rather than seropositivity measurement. Therefore, the bias caused by withholding information from patients could also present a confounding risk since those unvaccinated but priorly infected patients should be deemed immunized as those vaccinated [42]. Secondly, our study was conducted in a single center with small sample size, especially in terms of pregnancy outcomes.…”

Pfizer SARS-CoV-2 BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination (BNT162b2) has no adverse effect on elective oocyte cryopreservation outcomes

“…Several studies have reported vaccine safety in women of reproductive age, with no adverse effects on fertility and reproductive function (Bentov et al, 2021;Hillson et al, 2021;Mohr-Sasson et al, 2022;Wainstock et al, 2021). Likewise, IVF outcomes such as implantation rates and clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates have not been negatively affected by vaccination (Aharon et al, 2022;Aizer et al, 2022;Orvieto et al, 2021). One recent study evaluating the effect of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on IVF outcomes found number of oocytes retrieved and rate of good-quality embryos were comparable between vaccinated and unvaccinated groups (Huang et al, 2022).…”