E-ISSN: 2619-9467

Contents    Cover    Publication Date: 26 Jun 2025
Year 2025 - Volume 35 - Issue 2

Open Access

Peer Reviewed

ORIGINAL RESEARCH
29 Viewed35 Downloaded

Probable Effects of COVID-19 Vaccination on Semen Parameters: An Observational Cross-Sectional Study

Full Text PDF  
JCOG. 2025;35(2):39-45
DOI: 10.5336/jcog.2024-106155
Article Language: EN
Copyright Ⓒ 2025 by Türkiye Klinikleri. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
ABSTRACT
Objective: Assessment of the long-term effect of inactivated Sinopharm coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccine on semen analysis. Material and Methods: It is an observational cross-sectional study at Al-Kasr Al-Ainy hospital. A sample size of 128 men was included. Semen samples were collected after at least 1 year of the 2nd dose of the vaccine from 64 men who had a previously normal semen analysis (prior to the vaccination) and 64 samples of unvaccinated men. Results: There was no difference between the 2 groups in semen liquefaction time, semen volume, total sperm motility, sperm immotility, sperm morphology, semen pH, and semen viscosity. There was a statistically significant higher mean value of sperm concentration, total sperm count, and percentage of progressively motile sperm in the unvaccinated group, as well as a statistically significant higher mean value of non-progressively motile sperm percentage in the vaccinated group, all of which are clinically insignificant as both groups results fall within normal World Health Organization values. Conclusion: The results suggest the relative safety of the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine by Sinopharm. The vaccine did not have a clinically significant effect among the vaccinated men. There was no residual effect on male fertility; thus, the concerns raised about the vaccine's impact on male fertility have no condemning evidence.
REFERENCES:
  1. Abd ZH, Muter SA, Saeed RAM, Ammar O. Effects of Covid-19 vaccination on different semen parameters. Basic Clin Androl. 2022;32(1):13. [Crossref]  [PubMed]  [PMC] 
  2. Polack FP, Thomas SJ, Kitchin N, Absalon J, Gurtman A, Lockhart S, et al; C4591001 Clinical Trial Group. Safety and efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 vaccine. N Engl J Med. 2020;383(27):2603-15. [Crossref]  [PubMed]  [PMC] 
  3. Li H, Xiao X, Zhang J, Zafar MI, Wu C, Long Y, et al. Impaired spermatogenesis in COVID-19 patients. EClinicalMedicine. 2020;28:100604. [Crossref]  [PubMed]  [PMC] 
  4. Gupta A, Madhavan MV, Sehgal K, Nair N, Mahajan S, Sehrawat TS, et al. Extrapulmonary manifestations of COVID-19. Nat Med. 2020;26(7):1017-32. [Crossref]  [PubMed]  [PMC] 
  5. Sharma A, Shrivastava D. Psychological problems related to infertility. Cureus. 2022;14(10):e30320. [Crossref]  [PubMed]  [PMC] 
  6. Pourmasumi S, Nazari A, Fagheirelahee N, Sabeti P. Cytochemical tests to investigate sperm DNA damage: assessment and review. J Family Med Prim Care. 2019;8(5):1533-9. [Crossref]  [PubMed]  [PMC] 
  7. Hanley B, Lucas SB, Youd E, Swift B, Osborn M. Autopsy in suspected COVID-19 cases. J Clin Pathol. 2020;73(5):239-42. [Crossref]  [PubMed] 
  8. Koç E, Keseroğlu BB. Does COVID-19 worsen the semen parameters? early results of a tertiary healthcare center. Urol Int. 2021;105(9-10):743-8. [Crossref]  [PubMed]  [PMC] 
  9. Corona G, Vena W, Pizzocaro A, Pallotti F, Paoli D, Rastrelli G, et al. Andrological effects of SARS-Cov-2 infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Endocrinol Invest. 2022;45(12):2207-19. [Crossref]  [PubMed]  [PMC] 
  10. Dong Y, Li X, Li Z, Zhu Y, Wei Z, He J, et al. Effects of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on male fertility: a retrospective cohort study. J Med Virol. 2023;95(1):e28329. [PubMed] 
  11. Xia W, Zhao J, Hu Y, Fang L, Wu S. Investigate the effect of COVID-19 inactivated vaccine on sperm parameters and embryo quality in in vitro fertilization. Andrologia. 2022;54(6):e14483. [Crossref]  [PubMed]  [PMC] 
  12. Elhabak DM, Abdelsamie RA, Shams GM. COVID-19 vaccination and male fertility issues: myth busted. is taking COVID-19 vaccine the best choice for semen protection and male fertility from risky infection hazards? Andrologia. 2022;54(11):e14574. [PubMed]  [PMC] 
  13. Leisegang K, Finelli R, Moungala L, Moichela F, Pearce K, Ramasamy R, et al. The impact of COVID-19 vaccines on male semen parameters: a retrospective cohort study. Andrologia. 2023;1:7826568. [Crossref] 
  14. Zhu H, Wang X, Zhang F, Zhu Y, Du MR, Tao ZW, et al. Evaluation of inactivated COVID-19 vaccine on semen parameters in reproductive-age males: a retrospective cohort study. Asian J Androl. 2022;24(5):441-4. [Crossref]  [PubMed]  [PMC] 
  15. Gat I, Kedem A, Dviri M, Umanski A, Levi M, Hourvitz A, et al. Covid-19 vaccination BNT162b2 temporarily impairs semen concentration and total motile count among semen donors. Andrology. 2022;10(6):1016-22. [PubMed]  [PMC] 
  16. Gonzalez D, Nassau DE, Khodamoradi K, Ibrahim E, Blachman-Braun R, Dubin JM, et al. effect of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines on sperm quality. Fertil Steril. 2021;116(3):e297. [Crossref]  [PMC] 
  17. Adamyan L, Elagin V, Vechorko V, Stepanian A, Dashko A, Doroshenko D, et al. A review of recent studies on the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection and SARS-CoV-2 vaccines on male reproductive health. Med Sci Monit. 2022;28:e935879. [Crossref]  [PubMed]  [PMC] 
  18. Olana S, Mazzilli R, Salerno G, Zamponi V, Tarsitano MG, Simmaco M, et al. 4BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and semen: what do we know? Andrology. 2022;10(6):1023-9. [PubMed]  [PMC] 
  19. Huang Y, Yang C, Xu XF, Xu W, Liu SW. Structural and functional properties of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein: potential antivirus drug development for COVID-19. Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2020;41(9):1141-9. [Crossref]  [PubMed]  [PMC]