Doctors blame a range of misinformation and myths for the reasons why more Ohioans are not getting COVID vaccines right now. And health leaders say more people still need to get vaccinated in order to prevent pockets where the virus can be a bigger problem.
Dr. Lisa Egbert, President of the Ohio State Medical Association and an obstetrician/gynecologist with Paragon Women's Care, says there is absolutely no truth to the myth that the COVID vaccine will affect fertility. president of the Ohio State Medical Association says the notion many get from false social media posts that COVID vaccines can affect fertility is untrue.
“There is no scientific evidence nor is there a scientific pathway for there to be any ill-effects towards fertility.” Egbert says.
Dr. Neel Parekh, a urologist specializing in men's infertility at the Cleveland Clinic, says COVID vaccines do not affect male fertility either. He says COVID itself can affect fertility but the vaccines, which cannot cause the virus, do not affect male fertility whatsoever.
Egbert and other doctors say the COVID vaccines are safe and do not affect your DNA. They note someone who has had COVID might not have enough antibodies to protect them from getting it again and add the vaccine provides reliable protection. And they say COVID itself can cause long-term damage to your body.
4,778,091 million Ohioans are fully vaccinated at this point. 5,386,144 have started the process.