Covid in Scotland: Unvaccinated women can resume IVF treatment

Women who are unvaccinated for Covid should no longer be deferred for IVF treatment in Scotland.

Chief Medical Officer Sir Gregor Smith has written to all health boards confirming the decision.

In January the Scottish government paused the treatment for all patients who were not fully vaccinated unless they were waiting for a booster.

It said the decision was based on uncertainty about how pregnant women were affected by the Omicron variant.

If a patient had started to receive IVF, they were told they could resume the treatment when the suspension was lifted.

However, many women - particularly those who were older - said the delay could reduce their chance of conceiving.

On Friday, a Scottish government spokesperson said: "The chief medical officer wrote to all NHS Scotland health boards this afternoon to advise them that fertility treatment for unvaccinated patients should no longer be deferred, and treatment of patients can recommence.

"This follows a review of deferral recommendations that was put in place from 7 January."

Vaccines are deemed safe to give in pregnancy and cut the risk of severe Covid - however, doctors were cautious about advising pregnant patients to get vaccinated early last year.

A great deal of safety data has become available since then and pregnant women have been offered the vaccine since April.

In December, the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) put pregnant women on the priority list for jabs, similar to people with underlying health conditions.

A number of false and misleading claims about Covid-19 vaccines, fertility and miscarriages have been circulated online, despite not being supported by evidence.

Scottish Labour's health spokesperson Jackie Baillie previously said some women had concerns about the vaccine due to early advice that pregnant women should not be vaccinated.

Jemma McDonald was due to begin IVF almost five years after she and her partner started trying to have a baby.

Two days before Christmas, the 25-year-old discovered she could no longer be treated because she was unvaccinated.

Jemma, from Glasgow, said the news was devastating, particularly because she had not had a chance to share her concerns about getting vaccinated with her doctor.

"I'm not anti-vaccine, I'm just in limbo," she said. "I was unsure of why or even when to get them [the vaccine]. I hadn't had a chance to speak to any doctors or nurses regarding this with fertility treatment.

"At first they were saying if you're planning on being pregnant when the vaccines first came out it was advised not to get them. It all seems so quickly changed around."

"We thought when you get your consents it's only a couple of months after if your treatment was successful then you'd end up being pregnant - so we thought we're almost there.

"But to hear the news about the vaccines we feel like we've been kicked right back to the start again."

A review of the Scottish government's decision to defer IVF for unvaccinated patients was due on 28 February, but no update was given for several days.

One woman told the BBC she believed the government had been "completely inhumane" and questioned why the same decision had not been made for unvaccinated patients in England.

She said: "It's an absolute disgraced. Personally I feel like the Scottish government is holding us at ransom.

"I'm not an anti-vaxxer, however I am pro-choice - it is my body, I should have the right to decide what goes into my body, not forced into something so I can start a family."

Meanwhile, Jackie Baillie said she had been in contact with a number of women who were desperate to have children and extremely upset at the Scottish government's "blanket approach".

Speaking after the rule was lifted, Ms Baillie said: "This is a welcome decision to lift this callous policy, but it should never have been introduced in the first place.

"The decision to suspend treatment only happened in Scotland and no other part of the UK, and it was the only service in the NHS in Scotland on which vaccination was made a pre-condition.

"The SNP must make sure that every woman who had their treatment delayed because of this cruel policy gets the support they need to get their treatment back on track."

Going forward, unvaccinated women who have IVF will be asked to sign a consent form saying they are aware of the risks of being unvaccinated.

Chief Medical Officer Sir Gregor Smith said that Public Health Scotland data had suggested that Covid-19 cases and hospitalisations were stabilising and that the risk of becoming severely ill with the virus had reduced.

He added: "I am recommending that this treatment can recommence so long as women affected are fully informed both of the risks of non-vaccination and also of the extensive evidence concerning the safety of vaccines in pregnant women, those planning pregnancy or undergoing fertility treatment.

"I strongly support the recommendation that people get the vaccine when offered. The Covid-19 vaccines are safe and effective and there is no evidence to suggest that the Covid-19 vaccines will affect fertility in women or men."