COVID-19 vaccination is associated with a decreased risk of orchitis and/or epididymitis in men

Abstract

Vaccine hesitancy is a major public health obstacle to fighting the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic. Due to studies that show COVID-19 infection can affect sperm parameters and lead to orchitis, the public are concerned about the effect of the COVID vaccines on male reproduction. In this study, we investigated the association between COVID-19 vaccination and risk of developing orchitis and/or epididymitis outcomes in a cohort of men using a large, US-based, electronic health record database. After balancing for confounding variables, we found that receiving at least 1 COVID-19 vaccine is associated with a decreased risk of developing orchitis and/or epididymitis.