Covid vaccine: The side effect that may affect some women – but experts say not to worry

Nigel Farage interrupted by protesters during vaccine debate

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Women should not be concerned about COVID-19 vaccinations affecting their menstrual cycle, according to a new study published this week.

Vaccination with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines is linked to average changes of 0.71 and 0.91 days for the first and second vaccine doses.

The International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics classifies variations of less than eight days as normal.

The researchers are hopeful that this research will help to combat vaccine hesitancy in pre-menopausal women.

Lead author Alison Edelman, M.D., M.P.H, of Oregon Health and Science University in Portland explained that menstrual cycles typically vary a small amount from one month to the next.

The degree of variance they found was well within normal ranges.

Further research will examine whether the vaccine produces any specific changes in symptoms, such as pain, mood and intensity of bleeding.

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Diana W. Bianchi, M.D., director of NIH’s _Eunice Kennedy Shriver_ National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) said: “It is reassuring that the study found only a small, temporary menstrual change in women.

“These results provide, for the first time, an opportunity to counsel women about what to expect from COVID-19 vaccination so they can plan accordingly.”

She noted that little research had been conducted previously into the effects of COVID-19 vaccine or other vaccines on menstrual health.

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The NICHD and NIH funded the research as part of $1.67 million in grants awarded to five institutions for exploring potential links between COVID-19 vaccination and menstrual change.

These grants came after some early reports of vaccinated women experiencing missing or irregular periods.

Dr Bianchi said: “These rigorous scientific studies will improve our understanding of the potential effects of COVID-19 vaccines on menstruation, giving people who menstruate more information about what to expect after vaccination and potentially reducing vaccine hesitancy.”

These research projects will examine various aspects of menstrual health, alongside external factors from the vaccine that could be responsible.

There are a large number of lifestyle factors that can impact a person’s menstrual cycle.

Several of these may be impacted by changes implemented during the pandemic that could be mistaken for vaccine side effects.

Pandemic-induced stress, changes to diet or exercise, and infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus can all have an impact.

Other research groups awarded grants from the NIH will be looking at other ways in which menstrual health is impacted by vaccination.
This will examine the impact on specific ethnic, geographic and age groups.
One of these projects will focus specifically on adolescents.
The following institutions have received funding for the research:

  • Boston University
  • Harvard Medical School
  • John Hopkins University
  • Michigan State University
  • Oregon Health and Science University

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