Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccination Did Not Affect in Vitro Fertilization (IVF) / Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) Cycle Outcomes

Background: The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 inactivated vaccine administration on the outcomes of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles in infertile couples in China.Methods: We collected data from the CYART prospective cohort, which included couples undergoing IVF treatment from January 2021 to September 2022 at Sichuan Jinxin Xinan Women & Children's Hospital. Based on whether they received vaccination before ovarian stimulation, the couples were divided into the vaccination group and the non-vaccination group. We compared the laboratory parameters and pregnancy outcomes between the two groups.Findings: After performing propensity score matching (PSM), the analysis demonstrated similar clinical pregnancy rates, biochemical pregnancy and ongoing pregnancy rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated women. No significant disparities were found in terms of embryo development and laboratory parameters among the groups. Moreover, male vaccination had no impact on patient performance or pregnancy outcomes in assisted reproductive technology treatments. Additionally, there were no significant differences observed in the effects of vaccination on embryo development and pregnancy outcomes among couples undergoing ART.Interpretation: The findings suggest that COVID-19 vaccination did not have a significant effect on patients undergoing IVF/ICSI with fresh embryo transfer. Therefore, it is recommended that couples should receive COVID-19 vaccination as scheduled to help mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic.Funding: This work was supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Program of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission (grant no. KJZD-K202200408) and the Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province (grant no. 21PJ166).Declaration of Interest: The authors report no conflict of interest.Ethical Approval: This cohort study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Sichuan Jinxin Xinan Women & Children’s Hospital (2021-014).