key: cord-0825165-2asqet0r
authors: Legro, Richard S.
title: COVID-19 Pandemic and Reproductive Health
date: 2021-02-06
journal: Fertil Steril
DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2021.02.003
sha: 5547ae92d4c16c6bf58add7e9264b58da3619154
doc_id: 825165
cord_uid: 2asqet0r

This introduction tees off an outstanding collection of Views and Reviews articles on the effects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19 infection on human reproductive health. These articles written by experts in the field review the current literature on COVID-19 and male reproductive health, female reproductive health and the ART laboratory. Despite the prolonged nature of the pandemic and the number of people infected worldwide, there are still limited data about the effects of the virus and infection on human reproductive health and human fertility. The authors distill a vast and often conflicting series of reports into a digestible summary to guide patient counseling and institute the safest practices into the ART laboratory.

The COVID 19 pandemic has had profound and shifting effects on the practice of reproductive medicine. Initially during the first wave in March of 2020, it was guided by fear and a paucity of data, leading to cancellation of elective treatment cycles and near shut down of IVF labs out of an "abundance of caution". Now in January 2021 during the third and most severe phase of the pandemic to date, we soldier on with an intense fatigue given the duration and the fluctuating demands of the pandemic, a wary optimism with vaccination of health care workers and first responders largely achieved and the at risk patient population now the focus, better survival rates, and now an abundance of data on SARS-Cov-2 and COVID-19 infection (though still a paucity of conclusions). This Views and Reviews was constructed, such that a cadre of investigators and experts in the field of reproductive medicine sifted through the voluminous and often conflicting data that has appeared to date. They have provided us with the current Dr. Amy Sparks and her colleague at the University of Iowa have performed a through and systematic review of SARS-CoV-2 infection risks and practice guidelines for infection control in assisted reproductive technology (4). They take a structured approach in their article as they assess the risk for transmitting as well as best practices to prevent infection in an ART practice and laboratory. They identify four areas of potential risk for bi-directional infection in the ART clinic: patient to staff, staff to staff, staff to cell and cell to cell. The review succinctly summarized theoretical versus actual risk of these events and there remains scant scientific evidence for most of the transmissions, especially staff to cell and cell to cell. The widespread introduction and acceptance of social distancing and universal use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is cited as contributing to the low risk within the ART practice and laboratory.

The impact of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 on male reproduction and men's health. Fertil Steril

Pathological and molecular examinations of postmortem testis biopsies reveal SARS-CoV-2 infection in the testis and spermatogenesis damage in COVID-19 patients

The effects of COVID-19 on pregnancy and implications for reproductive medicine

Infection precautions for SARS-CoV-2 in assisted reproduction centers -dodging an invisible bullet