IMPACT OF COVID-19 VACCINATION ON ART OUTCOME

Abstract

To determine if COVID-19 vaccination has a significant influence on parameters considered important for Assisted reproductive technology (ART) in women. Retrospective analysis of 106 female patients, investigating BMI, donor age, TSH, AMH, LH post trigger, P4 pre trigger, eggs retrieved, number of mature eggs, fertilized eggs and E2 before HCG respectively with respect to COVID-19 vaccination status. All In vitro fertilization (IVF)/Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Aneuploidies (PGT-A) cycles resulting in embryo biopsy over a course of 12 months at a large, multicenter, private practice were included in analysis. A total of 106 patients were included in the analysis. Patients were stratified into two groups based on the COVID-19 vaccination such that 58 patients had received at least a single dose of vaccine and 48 had not received any dose of vaccine. Data recorded included BMI, donor age, TSH, AMH, LH post trigger, P4 pre trigger, eggs retrieved, number of matured eggs, fertilized eggs, and E2 before HCG respectively. Statistical analysis included two-tailed Student’s t-test for continuous variables, Chi-squared test for categorical variables, Pearson correlation for correlation matrix analysis, with p<0.05 defining statistical significance. GraphPad Prism (GraphPad Software) was used for statistical analysis. We compared BMI, donor age, TSH, AMH, HCG post trigger, LH post trigger, P4 pre trigger, eggs retrieved, number of mature eggs, fertilized eggs, and E2 before HCG respectively between the vaccinated (n=58) and non-vaccinated (n=48) groups. Results showed that there was no significant difference between the two groups for the considered parameters (p>0.05). Our findings suggest that COVID-19 vaccination does not influence the BMI, donor age, TSH, AMH, HCG post trigger, LH post trigger, P4 pre trigger, eggs retrieved, number of matured eggs, fertilized eggs and E2 before HCG. Further studies are required to find If additional parameters, such as Aneuploidy rates, antibody booster trigger, suppression and trigger type medication could influence the pregnancy in the women undergoing ART with respect to COVID-19 vaccination. Together these studies will help to overcome vaccine hesitance and establish a clear understanding about vaccines in the context of clinical variables that are considered relevant to ART for successful IVF outcomes.