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Efforts to immunise populations against Covid-19 have faced persistent online rumours that vaccination affects fertility or pregnancy.
Despite a lack of evidence that jabs reduce the chances of becoming pregnant, increase the risk of miscarriage or cause related forms of harm, misinformation has continued to spread on the web.
Here we look at what recent studies have concluded on vaccination and Covid-19 infection in relation to pregnancy and fertility.
Why have there been suggestions that Covid-19 vaccination could affect pregnancy?
One factor, said Ian Jones, a professor of virology at the University of Reading in the UK, is that there was little data available early on about pregnancy and the vaccines that were available.
“In the early stages, the trials were not targeted at pregnant women,” he said.
“So the data simply wasn’t good enough to say clearly the vaccine was safe. That’s true of all vaccines when they’re released, so there’s a general feeling new vaccines should only be used cautiously with pregnant women.”
If you are at any stage in pregnancy, or hoping to become pregnant, I would encourage you to get vaccinated to protect you and your baby
Dr Sarah Stock,
University of Edinburgh
The vaccines have since been used on “huge numbers” of pregnant women, so he said that doctors could now say that the Covid-19 vaccines were “completely safe for pregnant women to take”.
Among other studies, research from Norway released in the New England Journal of Medicine in November found that Covid-19 vaccination did not make miscarriage more likely.
England's National Health Service recommends that pregnant women are given the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines ahead of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab, “because these [Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna] vaccines have been more widely used during pregnancy in other countries and no safety concerns have been identified”.
What have studies found regarding fertility?
Among other research, a study published in January by the Boston School of Public Health found that fertility of women and men was not harmed by Covid-19 vaccination.
In the research, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, scientists found that being given the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines did not affect the chance of conception.
According to Prof Jones, suggestions that fertility may be affected by vaccination is “anti-vax stuff” that circulates on chat boards, but “doesn’t have any validity at all.”
While there is no evidence that vaccination reduces fertility, the same study indicated that Covid-19 infection may temporarily reduce fertility in men.
A reduction in fertility was found only in men who had tested positive within the previous 60 days, but not in those who had had an earlier infection, indicating that the effect is not permanent.
Previous studies also indicated that contracting Covid-19 could negatively affect male fertility.
How can Covid-19 affect pregnancy?
While it has been established that coronavirus vaccines do not reduce the chance of woman falling pregnant or increase the risk of miscarriage, a Covid-19 infection during pregnancy can prove harmful.
A study published in Nature Medicine in January based on results in Scotland reported that among women who had given birth within 28 days of a Covid-19 diagnosis, the baby mortality rate was increased four-fold.
“All baby deaths after Covid-19 in pregnancy occurred in women who were unvaccinated,” said Dr Sarah Stock, a reader in maternal and foetal health at the University of Edinburgh and the study’s first author.
Unvaccinated women were also more likely to be admitted to hospital and to be treated in an intensive care unit.
Further research has found that Covid-19 increases the risk of premature birth and of stillbirth.
“There is very convincing evidence from around the globe that vaccination before or during pregnancy is the safest and most effective way to protect pregnant women and their babies against Covid-19 infection and the serious complications that Covid-19 can cause,” said Dr Stock.
“If you are at any stage in pregnancy, or hoping to become pregnant, I would encourage you to get vaccinated to protect you and your baby.”
A separate study released at the end of January based on research at Boston Medical Centre indicated that the placenta may prevent many pregnant women with Covid-19 from passing the infection to their babies.
The researchers found that in the placentas of women with Covid-19, there were lower levels of ACE-2, a cell receptor that allows the coronavirus to enter cells. This could prevent SARS-CoV-2 being passed to the foetus.
Biography
Favourite drink: Must have karak chai and Chinese tea every day
Favourite non-Chinese food: Arabic sweets and Indian puri, small round bread of wheat flour
Favourite Chinese dish: Spicy boiled fish or anything cooked by her mother because of its flavour
Best vacation: Returning home to China
Music interests: Enjoys playing the zheng, a string musical instrument
Enjoys reading: Chinese novels, romantic comedies, reading up on business trends, government policy changes
Favourite book: Chairman Mao Zedong’s poems
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Blah
Started: 2018
Founder: Aliyah Al Abbar and Hend Al Marri
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and talent management
Initial investment: Dh20,000
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 40
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
Ain Issa camp:
- Established in 2016
- Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
- Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
- Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
- 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
- NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
- One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
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LEADERBOARD
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The Disaster Artist
Director: James Franco
Starring: James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogan
Four stars
Bio
Born in Dubai in 1994
Her father is a retired Emirati police officer and her mother is originally from Kuwait
She Graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2015 and is currently working on her Masters in Communication from the University of Sharjah.
Her favourite film is Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro
If you go
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at.
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last-16. first leg
Atletico Madrid v Juventus, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
Dubai Creek Open in numbers
- The Dubai Creek Open is the 10th tournament on this year's Mena Tour
- It is the first of five events before the season-concluding Mena Tour Championship
- This week's field comprises 120 players, 21 of which are amateurs
- 15 previous Mena Tour winners are competing at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club
Series information
Pakistan v Dubai
First Test, Dubai International Stadium
Sun Oct 6 to Thu Oct 11
Second Test, Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tue Oct 16 to Sat Oct 20
Play starts at 10am each day
Teams
Pakistan
1 Mohammed Hafeez, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Babar Azam, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed, 8 Bilal Asif, 9 Yasir Shah, 10, Mohammed Abbas, 11 Wahab Riaz or Mir Hamza
Australia
1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Mitchell Marsh, 5 Travis Head, 6 Marnus Labuschagne, 7 Tim Paine, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jon Holland
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Honeymoonish
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 390bhp
Torque: 400Nm
Price: Dh340,000 ($92,579
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Juliet, Naked
Dir: Jesse Peretz
Starring: Chris O'Dowd, Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke
Two stars
'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
MORE ON CORONAVIRUS & THE ECONOMY
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 2 (Mahrez 04', Ake 84')
Leicester City 5 (Vardy 37' pen, 54', 58' pen, Maddison 77', Tielemans 88' pen)
Man of the match: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
