COVID-19 mRNA vaccination status and concerns among pregnant women in Japan: a multicenter questionnaire survey

Assisted reproductive technology in Japan: A summary report for 2021 by the Ethics Committee of the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Purpose

The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (JSOG) registry gathers comprehensive data from registered assisted reproductive technology (ART) facilities in Japan. Herein, we report 2021 ART cycle characteristics and outcomes.

Methods

Descriptive statistics were used to summarize and analyze 2021 data.

Results

In 2021, 625 ART facilities participated in the registry; 27 facilities did not conduct ART cycles and 598 registered treatment cycles. In total, 498 140 cycles were registered, and there were 69 797 neonates (increases of 10.7% and 15.5%, respectively, from the previous year). The number of freeze-all in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles decreased in 2021; the number of neonates born was 2268 for IVF-embryo transfer (ET) cycles and 2850 for ICSI cycles. Frozen-thawed ET (FET) cycles increased markedly from 2020 (11.2% increase). In 2021, 239 428 FET cycles were conducted, resulting in 87 174 pregnancies and 64 679 neonates. For fresh transfers, the total single ET, singleton pregnancy rate, and singleton live birth rates were 82.7%, 97.0%, and 97.3%; for FET, these rates were 84.9%, 96.9%, and 97.1%.

Conclusions

The 2021 Japanese ART registry analysis showed marked increases in both total treatment cycles and live births from the previous year.

Comparative analysis of the effectiveness difference of SARS-COV-2 mRNA vaccine in different populations in the real world: A review

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has ravaged the world since December 2019. Up to now, it is still prevalent around the world. Vaccines are an important means to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and reduce severe disease and mortality. Currently, different types of novel coronavirus vaccines are still being developed and improved, and the relevant vaccines that have been approved for marketing have been widely vaccinated around the world. As vaccination coverage continues to grow, concerns about the efficacy and safety of vaccines after real-world use have grown. Some clinical studies have shown that vaccine effectiveness is closely related to antibody response after vaccination. Among them, the advantages of COVID-19 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine, such as better adaptability to variant strains and better immune response ability, have attracted great attention. However, different populations with different genders, ages, previous COVID-19 infection history, underlying diseases and treatments will show different antibody responses after mRNA vaccination, which will affect the protection of the vaccine. Based on this, this paper reviews the reports related severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 mRNA vaccines, and summarizes the effectiveness of vaccines in different populations and different disease states and looked forward to the precise vaccination strategy of the vaccine in the future.

Side Effects of COVID-19 Vaccines in Pregnant and Lactating Mexican Women and Breastfed Infants: A Survey-Based Study

COVID-19 vaccines' safety has been extensively studied; however, further analysis is required in pregnant women, nursing mothers, and breastfed infants. Our aim was to compare the extension and severity of self-reported COVID-19 vaccine side effects in pregnant and breastfeeding women, and breastfed infants. In this cross-sectional study, COVID-19-vaccinated subjects were enrolled using an online survey in Mexico. Women were classified by pregnancy and breastfeeding status at the time of vaccination (n = 3167). After the first or only dose, there was a trend toward fewer systemic effects in pregnant women (p = 0.06). BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) had a higher frequency of local symptoms in pregnancy. Lactating women experienced fewer local symptoms after the first or single dose (p = 0.04) and the opposite occurred after the second dose (p = 0.001). ChAdOx1 (AstraZeneca) increased the chances of developing both local and systemic symptoms after the first dose but decreased them after the second dose. The severity was similar across groups, although the result of lack of association in pregnancy requires studies with a larger sample size. Irritability was the most reported symptom in breastfed infants. This study contributes to the knowledge about the side effects in pregnant and lactating women, and breastfed babies.