Medical body moves to debunk myths on Covid vaccines and women's fertility 

A leading obstetrician has moved to expel myths around the coronavirus vaccine, including claims spread on social media that it affects women's fertility.

A leading obstetrician has moved to expel myths around the Covid-19 vaccine, including claims spread on social media that it affects women's fertility.

Updated vaccine guidelines have been issued by the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecology in response to fears around infertility and menstruation.

Chair of the institute Dr Cliona Murphy said more evidence is coming from real-world data that will help women make vaccine decisions.

She said infertility fears are regularly used by groups wanting to derail vaccinations.

“Myths about fertility have followed vaccinations,” she said. 

So flip that on its head; do we have any real evidence of vaccines causing infertility? The answer is no.

Despite many claims shared on social media, nobody has shown what the link could be, she added.

“Nobody has come up with a mechanism for how this can affect your fertility. Nobody is saying there is this mechanism and this is how it works."

The polio vaccination campaign in Nigeria was derailed with claims of infertility links, leading to the disease being found there until 2020, well after other African countries.

The HPV vaccine was also falsely linked to infertility, she said.

These rumours tend not to link male infertility to vaccination, she said, instead targeting young women.

“I am sure the people hearing these stories are not necessarily anti-vaccine themselves,” she said.

“But I think the instigation for them comes from groups who don’t have great motives, and maybe not a great grounding in science.” 

Dr Murphy is also concerned women are falsely told menstrual cycles are affected by being near vaccinated people.

This rumour started in America, she said.

“That is not true,” she said. 

“The vaccine works by introducing a small thing onto your skin that makes your body produce an antibody. It doesn’t mean you shed vaccine.” 

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She said there is also no evidence showing vaccines affect menstrual cycles, and no data suggesting vaccinated people are more sensitive to hair dye.

Having seen a sign advising vaccinated customers to get a patch test recently in Dublin, she said: “These concerns are not evidence-based.” 

A study carried out by NUI Galway with the University of Huddersfield found variations in attitude to vaccination along gender and age lines.

Dr Jane Walsh, senior lecturer in psychology and director of the Mobile Technology and Health Research Group, said: “These findings suggest that messages that are channelled through relevant social influencers may have a significant impact on vaccine uptake.” 

Social channel Instagram has placed warning notices on some Irish posts about vaccination.

A number of well-known accounts, with thousands of followers, have shared information about women and young girls suffering bleeds after being near vaccinated people — information not grounded in scientific fact.

Guidelines updated by the Institute on May 26 are available on their website.