Fertility refers to your ability to naturally conceive or induce a pregnancy. For females, fertility is the natural ability to conceive a baby, while for males, it’s when their sperm can fertilize a female’s ovarian egg.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO)Trusted Source, infertility is when two people are unable to conceive after having frequent sex without a condom or other barrier method for over 1 year.
Many people are concerned about the potential risks of COVID-19 vaccines. In particular, some worry about its impacts on reproductive health, fertility, and infertility treatments.
Several researchers and healthcare organizations, such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), have reported that no studies have found any impact of the COVID-19 vaccines on male or female fertility.
However, other researchers believe that more detailed studies are needed to understand the potential long-term effects of the vaccines on fertility and reproductive health.
Keep reading to learn more about how the COVID-19 vaccines may affect female and male fertility.
Can the COVID-19 vaccines affect female fertility?
Female fertility refers to an individual’s natural ability to become pregnant. Several biological, hormonal, and environmental factors contribute to natural conception and fertility.
Since COVID-19 vaccines were introduced to the public in 2020, people have been concerned about their effects on female fertility, and some public authorities and influential figures have claimed that they do, in fact, affect female fertility.
As of November 2025, five COVID-19 vaccines have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These include:
COMINARTYTrusted Source Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine
PfizerTrusted Source Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine
ModernaTrusted Source COVID-19 vaccine
SPIKEVAXTrusted Source COVID-19 vaccine
NUVAXOVIDTrusted Source COVID-19 vaccine
The manufacturers of each vaccine claim that it has no effect on female fertility. However, these conclusions were based on a single animal study for each vaccine, which lasted up to 1 month. No studies assessed the possible effects on male fertility, nor were any conducted in humans.
That said, healthcare organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Trusted Source and the ACOG suggest that COVID-19 vaccines don’t affect female fertility.
