COVID-19 vaccination not associated with increased risk of erectile dysfunction.

Although mRNA COVID-19 vaccines have proven to be safe and effective against SARS-CoV-2, vaccination rates have slowed, with some individuals citing impotence as a concern. Therefore, we conducted a survey of the US males to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on erectile function. We hypothesized that vaccinated men would not have a higher risk of ED compared to unvaccinated men. Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) was utilized to survey the US adult male population between August 26 and September 2, 2021. Survey participation was open to 1000 males over the age of 18 and currently living in the United States regardless of vaccination status or the past medical history of COVID-19. Selection criteria included respondents ≥45 years old, no history of physician-diagnosed ED, biologically born, and identify as male. Participants completed an anonymous 16-question survey that included a multidimensional scale used to evaluate ED, the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5). Among vaccinated men, the median IIEF-5 score was 20 [16-24] compared to 22 [17.5-25] in the unvaccinated group (p = 0.195). The multivariable-adjusted analysis demonstrated that vaccination against COVID-19 was not associated with increased risk of ED. Overall, this cross-sectional survey showed that COVID-19 vaccination was not associated with an increased risk of erectile dysfunction in males 45 years and older.

Long-term evaluation of sperm parameters after coronavirus disease 2019 messenger ribonucleic acid vaccination.

Objective: To determine whether the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines can negatively impact the semen parameters of young healthy men in the long-term. Design: We conducted semen analyses on 12 men before, 3 and 9 months after achieving fully vaccinated status. Individuals who admitted a history of infertility or previous azoospermia were excluded from study participation. Subjects: Healthy male volunteers between the ages of 18-50 years old were recruited between September 2021 - March 2022. Main Outcome Measures: Semen analyses were performed and evaluated volume, sperm concentration, total motility, and total motile sperm count (TMSC). The primary outcome was median change in the TMSC at baseline, 3 months, and at least 9 months following vaccination. Results: A total of 12 men volunteered in our study (median age 26 [25 - 30] years). Subjects provided follow-up semen samples at a median of 10 months following the second vaccine dose. There were no significant changes in any semen parameters between baseline, 3 months, and 10 months following vaccination. Baseline samples demonstrated median sperm concentrations and TMSC of 29.5 million/cc [9.3 - 49] and 31 million [4-51.3], respectively. At 9-month follow-up, sperm concentration and TMSC were 43 [20.5 - 63.5] (P=.351) and 37.5 [8.5 - 117.8] (P=.519), respectively. Of note, there were no significant changes in semen volume nor total motility (%) for participants at follow-up. Conclusion: COVID-19 mRNA vaccines and the booster dose does not appear to negatively impact the semen parameters of healthy males up to 10 months following vaccination.

SARS-CoV-2 in the Prostate: Immunohistochemical and Ultrastructural Studies.

The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was discovered in 2019 and has proven to be a significant public health challenge. While viruses from the coronavirus family have been established as causes of respiratory tract infections, SARS-CoV-2 has also been found in the heart, kidney, testes, and penis. This paper investigates whether SARS-CoV-2 can linger in the prostate by examining the histopathological, ultrastructural, and immunofluorescent elements of prostatic tissue from a patient who was infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus prior to having a holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) procedure. The findings of this case report suggest that COVID-19 has both the ability to enter prostatic tissue during an acute infection and persist over a timeframe beyond the initial infection period as RNA-containing viral bodies. This case report lays the foundation for future investigations to examine any histopathological changes to the prostatic tissue that may be associated with SARS-CoV-2 viral infection.

Fear about adverse effect on fertility is a major cause of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the United States.

Although COVID-19 vaccine access has increased nationwide, vaccination rates have been slow-moving, with many studies showing significant vaccine hesitancy in the U.S. We conducted an online survey using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) to identify reasons for vaccine hesitancy among unvaccinated adults between June 30 and July 1, 2021. We found that 58% of unvaccinated respondents were worried about unknown long-term adverse effects. Of these, 41% believed that the COVID-19 vaccines can negatively impact reproductive health and or fertility, and 38% were unsure of the effects on fertility. Our study demonstrates that fear regarding COVID-19 vaccine adverse effects and belief that they can negatively impact fertility is a major cause of vaccine hesitancy in the United States. We identified that urban residents, married individuals, those born outside the U.S., those with health insurance, and people with higher education and income greater than $100,000 felt that the vaccine would affect fertility more than their counterparts did. Finally, we found that 48% of unvaccinated respondents cited 'more information and research conducted on the COVID-19 vaccines' as the action that would most encourage vaccine uptake.

Whole Exome Sequencing Identifies a Rare Mutation in NACAD as a Possible Cause of COVID Orchitis in Brothers.

COVID orchitis (testicular pain) is reported in 10-15% of men with long COVID. We identified 2 siblings with COVID orchitis and hypothesized that genetic mutations are associated with susceptibility. Blood samples from 5 COVID-19 (+) men, three of whom had orchitis were evaluated by whole-exome-sequencing. A rare deletion on chromosome 7 was found in NACAD among the 3 men with orchitis. Interestingly, circulating ACE2 levels was decreased in men with COVID orchitis. This pilot study generated the hypothesis that men who develop COVID orchitis could have underlying genetic variants and altered levels in circulating ACE2 that may increase their risk.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy linked to increased internet search queries for side effects on fertility potential in the initial rollout phase following Emergency Use Authorization.

The Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the COVID-19 vaccine on December 11, 2020 has been met with hesitancy for uptake with some citing potential impacts on future fertility. We hypothesised that irrespective of sex, fertility-related queries would markedly increase during the 48 days following EUA of the coronavirus vaccine. We sought to objectively identify trends in internet search queries on public concerns regarding COVID-19 vaccine side effects on fertility that might impact vaccine uptake. We used Google Trends to investigate queries in Google's Search Engine relating to the coronavirus vaccine and fertility between 10/24/2020 and 1/27/2021. The five most queried terms were identified as: 'COVID Vaccine Fertility', 'COVID Vaccine and Infertility', 'COVID Vaccine Infertility', 'COVID Vaccine Fertility CDC', and 'COVID 19 Vaccine Infertility' with an increase of 710.47%, 207.56%, 264.35%, 2,943.7%, and 529.26%, respectively, all p < .001. This study indicates that there was an increase in online COVID-19 vaccine-related queries regarding fertility side effects coinciding with the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) on December 11, 2020. Our results objectively evidence the increased concern regarding the vaccine and likely demonstrate a major cause for hesitancy in vaccine uptake. Future studies and counselling with patients should be undertaken to help mitigate these concerns.