A doctor has called for more studies into whether or not COVID-19 vaccines cause period changes after thousands of women have reported irregular menstrual cycles following the shots.
Dr Victoria Male, a lecturer in reproductive immunology at Imperial College London, said last year’s clinical trials should have looked for abnormal menstruation.
At least 6,000 women in the U.S. report that their periods have come earlier than usual, felt heavier or just appeared irregular post-vaccination.
Additionally, more than 30,000 women in Britain have complained of suffering irregular periods after being jabbed.
Officials have stated that data ‘does not support a link between changes to menstrual periods and COVID-19 vaccines since the number of reports is low relative to both the number of people vaccinated and the prevalence of menstrual disorders generally,’ Male wrote in The BMJ.
‘However, the way in which…data are collected makes firm conclusions difficult.’
She added that investigating such a link could calm fears that the vaccines are linked to infertility and increase confidence in the shots.
‘Vaccine hesitancy among young women is largely driven by false claims that COVID-19 vaccines could harm their chances of future pregnancy,’ Male wrote.
‘Failing to thoroughly investigate reports of menstrual changes after vaccination is likely to fuel these fears.’
More than 6,000 women in the U.S. have reported heavier than normal or abnormal menstrual cycles to the CDC’s reporting system post-Covid vaccination
A doctor has called for more studies into the link between irregular periods and COVID-19 vaccines, saying investigations could calm fears that the vaccines are linked to infertility and increase confidence in the shots (file image)
According to a DailyMail.com analysis of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, there have been at least 6,047 reports of U.S. women reporting abnormal menstrual cycles.
The most common complaint is heavy menstrual bleeding with 2,571 women reporting this symptom as of Thursday.
Other frequent reports include irregular menstruation, intermenstrual bleeding, menstruation delayed and abnormal uterine bleeding.
However, some women have experienced less common symptoms including an anovulatory cycle, which is when the release of an egg from the ovaries does not occur or superovulation, which occurs when a woman releases more than one egg in a month.
Previously, CDC officials have said that none of the reports warrant concern.
‘At this time, CDC is not seeing any safety concerns that warrant additional surveillance of irregular menstrual symptoms reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System,’ Martha Sharan, a public affairs officer for the CDC’s Vaccine Task Force said in an email to the Chicago Tribune.
She added that the the reports make up ‘a very small number’ of the more than 300 doses administered in the U.S.
However, there is enough concern that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded grants to five universities earlier this month to study whether or not there is a link between having abnormal periods and the COVID-19 vaccine.
The five studies will likely recruit between 400,000 and 500,000 participants, including adolescents, transgender women and nonbinary people.
According to the NIH, there are several factors by which Covid immunizations can cause temporary menstrual cycle changes.
This includes stress related to the pandemic, lifestyle changes and even prior COVID-19 infection.
The NIH also suggests that the immune system’s response to the COVID-19 vaccine may briefly affect communication between immune cells and the uterus.
Gynecologists have previously told DailyMail.com that cycle changes post-vaccination can occur – but that they are rare, typically resolve on their own without medication and do not affect fertility.
In the UK, more than 30,000 women have reported to the country’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Yellow Card scheme that they have suffered irregular cycles after getting vaccinated.
Dr Jackie Maybin, a consultant gynecologist and senior clinical researcher fellow a the University of Edinburgh, said other vaccines, such as the HPV vaccine, have been known to disrupt periods with no noticeable impact on fertility.
‘At this stage, it is difficult to be certain regarding the mechanisms causing these effects. It may differ from person to person,’ she said in a statement to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
Maybin also suggested that stress is playing a role – explaining that when the body is stressed, it prevents pregnancy to conserve energy.
‘This brain-level effect may explain some of the changes in menstruation observed during the pandemic, with Covid or with vaccination,’ Maybin said.
She added: ‘The resulting inflammation may transiently affect the ovaries, altering their hormone production over one or two cycles, resulting in irregular or heavier menstrual bleeding.
‘The inflammation may also temporarily alter how the womb lining breaks down and sheds, causing a heavier period.
‘These effects could lead to temporary changes in menstrual symptoms that should spontaneously resolve.’
