New York – As widespread misinformation about COVID-19 Vaccines and infertility have spread on social media, rumors have spread as fast as the virus itself, and scared some women from getting an injection.
Jay Huber, a fertility doctor in New Orleans, is asked daily by his patients whether the vaccine causes infertility. He said there is no evidence of this happening.
“I think it is important to debunk the myths because patients must have access to accurate information,” Huber told CBS News.
So, what’s the biggest misconception?
“This concept that vaccination will actually train the human immune system to create an antibody that would cross-react with the vital protein in the placenta, which would ultimately cause infertility,” he said.
The unfounded fear, said Huber, is that an antibody not only attacks the virus, but also the placenta.
Stacey Clarke, a 36-year-old nurse, is receiving fertility treatments from Huber. She fears that the vaccine could affect her ability to become pregnant.
“It is too early to put something strange in my body going through what I am going through,” she said. “There is a lot of emotion. Because I have done this twice and I have not been successful.”
Clarke said the idea of becoming infertile crossed her mind, but Huber reassured her.
“He, of course, feels that there is enough evidence for me to get the vaccine,” she said of the discussions. “So for now, we have reached an agreement.”
Clarke said that many of her colleagues share these fears.
“We have the same feeling about the vaccine … We just don’t know the long-term effects on ourselves or the fetus,” she said.
Huber addressed this issue: “I don’t think reproductive women should be concerned about their future fertility if they receive this COVID-19 vaccine. The data we have so far is that the vaccine is very safe.”
Clarke said he doesn’t think there is anything to change her mind about the vaccine. Not even that cautionary tale by Anna Almendrala, 35. She fell ill with COVID after her fertility treatment.
In a video, she can be seen lying on her stomach, short of breath.
“The scary thing is that things can change on a dime with this virus,” she said.
Days later, she was in the hospital, writing a farewell letter to her daughter.
When asked what she would say to women who do not want the vaccine, Almendrala referred to the prevalence of COVID in the USA
“I would say that at this point … with the virus so widespread, you are choosing between getting the vaccine or taking COVID,” she said.
Almadrala said she is relieved that there is a vaccine and she will be happy to get it – when it is her turn.
“I think what this experience really showed us is that we already have a lot to be thankful for,” she said. “I almost felt like I was a few days away from losing everything.”
Read more on the CBS News “Women and the Pandemic” series below: