Khaberni - mRNA vaccines have turned into a global debate center during the "COVID-19" pandemic, as fertility-related concerns emerged as one of the most complicated dilemmas in accepting these vaccines.
This debate intensified with the spread of claims on social media and non-scientific platforms that link vaccination with infertility, at a time when many countries recorded a decline in birth numbers.
However, this debate began to gradually subside with the emergence of results from extensive studies based on real data and accurate statistics, looking into the relationship between receiving the vaccine and fertility rates on a large scale, paving the way for a clearer understanding less affected by rumors.
In this context, a recent Swedish study from Linköping University announced clear results that conclusively refute these claims, finding after analyzing data from tens of thousands of women that COVID vaccines have no connection to declining birth rates.
This study, published in the journal Communications Medicine, confirms what other research in various countries has previously indicated, shifting the discussion from focusing on the role of the vaccine to looking for realistic social and economic explanations for this decline.
In the study, researchers analyzed all women aged between 18 and 45 in Jonköping County, totaling nearly 60,000 women (out of a total county population of 369,000). Among these women, 75% were vaccinated once or more against COVID-19 from 2021 to 2024. The researchers used data on births, vaccinations, abortions, and deaths from health records.
When comparing birth and abortion rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated women, researchers found no statistically significant difference between the two groups. This aligns with several previous studies that found no link between the COVID vaccine and fertility.
Thomas Timpka, a professor of social medicine at Linköping University, said: "We conclude that it is unlikely that the mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 is behind the decline in birth rates during the pandemic.” He added: “We see no difference in birth rates between those who received the vaccine and those who did not. We looked at all recorded cases of miscarriage among those who were pregnant, and found no difference between the groups there either.”
Researchers believe that the decline in birth rates has more likely explanations. The people who are now in their thirties, a common time for childbearing, were born in the latter half of the 1990s—a period that experienced financial difficulties and a decline in birth rates in Sweden. In other words, the current group of potential parents is smaller because of the declining birth rates 30 years ago. Additionally, pandemic-related factors may have contributed to the decline in childbearing, such as health concerns, economic issues, and behavioral changes during lockdown periods.
One of the strengths of the study is that it examines pregnancy outcomes in a large, representative group of the population. The researchers also considered that a woman's age is a possible factor that might obscure any potential effects of vaccines on childbearing; hence, they accounted for age in their analysis.
