Is it safe to have sex after you take the COVID vaccine? Here’s what experts say

Social media has lately been abuzz with queries on whether one can have sex after getting the COVID vaccine.

I’m in the Pfizer BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine trail.. Why do they want participants of both sexes to agree not to have unprotected sex or try to conceive a child for so many weeks after getting a shot in the arm? It’s an mRNA vaccine! Makes ZERO sense to me.

— Jeremy Kamil (@macroliter) September 24, 2020

It’s been said that unprotected sex with a Covid vaccine recipient could lead to infertility of the female.

— Emily Jayne (@aussienproud14) March 28, 2021

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While the Health Ministry has not issued any formal guidelines about it, medical experts suggest that men and women should use contraceptives after receiving the second dose.

“The SARS-CoV2 is a novel virus and the vaccine developed to neutralise it. However, it is too early to say whether there are any long-term side effects of the vaccine and whether they affect a man and a woman if they have intercourse. Abstinence from sex may not be always possible for an inoculated person,” Dr Deepak Verma, internal medicine, Columbia Asia Hospital, Ghaziabad, told indianexpress.com.

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The doctor, however, emphasised that in the current situation, “prevention is the best safeguard”. “It will be advisable for men and women to use contraceptives such as condoms for at least 2 to 3 weeks after receiving the second dose. This is because during sex the body fluids come in contact.”

He added, “Since we do not know how vaccines impact us, using a condom will be the best and most cost-effective prevention.” He also advised that women eligible for the vaccine should consult a gynaecologist before getting inoculated.