A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:
No link found between COVID-19 vaccines and male infertility
CLAIM: COVID-19 vaccines cause male infertility.
THE FACTS: Claims that the vaccines cause infertility in men are not supported by evidence, according to research and experts. The claim surfaced in recent days following research that suggested COVID-19 could have an effect on male fertility. In social media posts twisting that research, users suggested that the vaccines, not the disease, were actually to blame. “Another ‘effect’ from the injections,” one tweet reads. Experts say there is no basis for the claim that the vaccines have such a side effect. “There is no evidence indicating that the COVID vaccine can cause male infertility,” Amelia Wesselink, a research assistant professor of epidemiology at Boston University, wrote in an email. Dr. Marc Goldstein, surgeon in chief of male reproductive medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, similarly told The Associated Press that “there is absolutely no evidence that the vaccines affect male fertility.” Wesselink added: “Studies have shown no differences in sperm parameters before and after vaccination, and a study of couples trying to conceive without fertility treatment found no association between vaccination in either partner and fertility.” The latter study, co-authored by Wesselink, did report that there was an association between men being infected with the coronavirus and a short-term decline in fertility; the researchers said that may be explained by a fever. A 2021 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found no significant decreases in the sperm count of 45 healthy, vaccinated men. The men were assessed before receiving either the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and 70 days after receiving their second dose. A co-author of the recently released study examining the effects of COVID-19 on male fertility that was cited in the social media posts also said that the research had no relation to the COVID-19 vaccines. “We did not claim that our study is related to the vaccine or its effect,” Dr. Sanjeeva Srivastava, a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, said in an email. He said the men in the study, conducted in India, were not vaccinated prior to semen samples being collected. He said that the collection was from COVID-19 recovered patients and taken between October 2020 and December 2020, prior to COVID-19 vaccines rolling out in India in early 2021. The results found that those with prior COVID-19 showed an issue with several proteins associated with male reproduction. He added that further research is required.
— Associated Press writer Angelo Fichera in Philadelphia contributed this report.
Miami Open withdrawals weren’t caused by COVID vaccine effects
CLAIM: Fifteen tennis players dropped out of the 2022 Miami Open due to COVID-19 vaccine-related complications.
THE FACTS: None of the athletes who withdrew or retired during the tournament did so because of COVID-19 vaccine side effects, according to the official causes listed by the Association of Tennis Professionals, Women’s Tennis Association, and published by the tournament organizer. Social media users shared baseless claims that the high number of withdrawals and retirements were caused by the vaccines following news that two top players, Jannik Sinner, from Italy, and Paula Badosa, of Spain, had to retire from the final rounds of the tournament this month. In tennis, a “retirement” is when an athlete has to pull out during a competition because of an injury, illness or personal reason, causing the player to forfeit their place. A “withdrawal” is when a player decides not to play all matches in an event. The ATP publicly confirmed Sinner was suffering from foot blisters and the WTA said Badosa had a viral illness at the time. Still, some social media users and a report by One America News Network spread unfounded claims about what happened, even after the causes of the athletes’ retirements were publicly disclosed. The more than a dozen other retirements or withdrawals at the 2022 Miami Open were not linked to vaccines, either, according to the official results released by the ATP, WTA and published by the Miami Open. Four players on the men’s side either withdrew or retired during the tournament. In addition to Sinner, the other two retirements were caused by a right foot injury and a right shoulder injury. The one withdrawal was due to a right hand injury. On the women’s side, the WTA and Miami Open list 15 players who either withdrew or retired during the tournament. Seven women retired in addition to Badosa, with reasons listed as lower back pain, a foot injury, heat illness, a right thigh injury, an abdominal injury, a personal reason and thigh injuries affecting two separate players. The seven withdrawals were caused by a left arm injury, an abdominal injury, a right wrist injury, a left shoulder injury, a left thigh injury, a right ankle injury and an unspecified viral illness. While this year’s count is higher than those of years past, it isn’t unheard of to have dropout rates into the double digits. For example, the last two times the tournament was held, in 2021 and 2019, a total of 11 tennis players, both men and women, either retired or withdrew. Before that, the highest number in recent years was in 2016, when 12 players withdrew or retired. A representative for the ATP did not comment on the claims, and representatives for the WTA and Miami Open did not respond to requests for comment. The Associated Press has also previously reported on misleading claims that COVID-19 vaccines have caused an alarming wave of deaths and cardiac issues among otherwise healthy athletes. Experts say there is no supporting evidence for the claim, and cardiologists have told the AP that cases of sudden cardiac arrest have been documented among athletes well before the pandemic began. While a rare risk of myocarditis has been associated with the mRNA vaccines, health officials have concluded that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks.