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As our primary care doctors in Jupiter have told you before, the COVID-19 vaccines don’t impact fertility. Yet this unfortunate and untrue rumor persists.

Ironically, however, infection with COVID-19 may eventually prove to cause a loss of fertility in men, according to a recent study. It’s still too early to tell whether the condition lasts beyond a few weeks. There appears to be, however, little doubt that the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been detected in the testes of laboratory animals and humans who have contracted COVID-19.

Another study points to the possibility of impotence as a result of infection with the virus.

Not surprising

This shouldn’t be a surprise, however. Scientists have known nearly since the outbreak of the disease that—unlike with the flu—the virus doesn’t remain confined to the lungs. Instead, it spreads throughout the body, and can affect every major organ: heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, intestines, and testes.

Doctors around the world are finding that COVID-19 patients are experiencing severe effects throughout the body. This includes heart inflammation. It can lead to cardiac arrest, along with acute kidney disease, liver problems, intestinal and liver damage, and neurological malfunction.

Another distinguishing feature not seen with the flu are found in the reports of young and middle-aged people. Many barely experience COVID-19 symptoms, yet suddenly have strokes and heart attacks.

And as they continue to study the illness, scientists are learning even more. 

Earlier indications

As far back as the spring of 2020, researchers found evidence of the extensive spread of the coronavirus throughout the body. This included to the reproductive organs.

In May of 2020, for example, CNN reported on one study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), which found that the virus “can persist in men’s semen even after they have begun to recover, a finding that raises the possibility the virus could be sexually transmitted.”

In November of last year, London’s Daily Mail reported on an unusual case. A Turkish man complained of of testicular pain and swelling to his doctor, who diagnosed him with COVID-19. The paper also noted a small study from China. It seemed to show as many as one out of five men (six out of 34 patients) reported testicular pain as a first symptom of infection with the virus.

While these examples are by no means conclusive, they are not isolated. The paper also reported on two other cases similar to the Turkish one. These included a 43-year-old Massachusetts man and another man in Italy whose initial symptom was testicular pain and swelling.

More recent findings

A newer study from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine was the first to demonstrate that COVID-19 can be present in tissue of the penis long after men recover from the virus.

Published this past May in the World Journal of Men’s Health, the small study found widespread blood vessel (endothelial) dysfunction in two men as a result of infection with COVID-19. This syndrome can lead to erectile dysfunction (ED).

They also took tissue samples from two other men who did not have COVID-19, and found no endothelial dysfunction. The two men who did have it were infected with the coronavirus six and eight months prior to the study. This indicates the damage seen was possibly long-term.

“In our pilot study, we found that men who previously did not complain of erectile dysfunction developed pretty severe erectile dysfunction after the onset of COVID-19 infection,” study author Ranjith Ramasamy, associate professor and director of the Miller School’s Reproductive Urology Program, said in a statement.

Another study in June, published in the journal Microorganisms, found that the coronavirus can infect the testes of hamsters. Hamsters are popular in coronavirus research because they develop the same symptoms of the disease as humans.

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch detected the virus in the testes of all infected hamsters. This may explain the cases of testicular pain and swelling reported as an early symptom of the illness.

“Given the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical to investigate how this disease can impact the testes, and the potential consequences for disease severity, reproductive health, and sexual transmission,” Rafael Kroon Campos, the study’s lead author and postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Shannan Rossi at UTMB, said in a statement.

Protect yourself

While many of these findings are preliminary, they all point to the possibility of near-term—and maybe even lasting—damage to men’s fertility as a result of infection with COVID-19.

The best way to protect yourself is with one of the coronavirus vaccines. Although reports of rare adverse effects of the vaccines continue to arise, these are extremely unlikely. The latest warning regarding the Johnson & Johnson vaccine possibly resulting in Guillain-Barre syndrome is a perfect example.

There have been about 100 unconfirmed reports of the neurological disorder in men over 50. These occurred about two weeks after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. This equals about 0.001 percent of the 12.8 million doses given. Yet each week in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports between 60 and 120 cases of the syndrome arising from other causes.

If you haven’t received the coronavirus vaccine, it’s vital you do so. If you have any questions or concerns about COVID-19 and fertility, please don’t hesitate to call us.