COVID-19 Vaccine And Menstruation, Study Suggests Link: Report

COVID-19 Vaccine And Menstruation: According to an editorial published in the peer-reviewed British Medical Journal today, a link between changes in the menstrual cycle and COVID-19 vaccination is plausible, and must be investigated.

In the editorial, Victoria Male, a reproductive specialist at Imperial College London, UK noted that periods or unexpected vaginal bleeding are not listed as common side effects of COVID-19 vaccination.

“Over 30,000 such reports had been made to the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) surveillance scheme for adverse drug reactions by September 2”, Victoria Male said. She belongs to the Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Imperial College, London, Chelsea and Westminster, Hospital Campus, London, UK. It is also noted that most people find that their period returns to normal the following cycle and, importantly, there is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccination adversely affects fertility. The piece is titled Menstrual changes after covid-19 vaccination: A link is plausible and should be investigated.

"One important lesson is that the effects of medical interventions on menstruation should not be an afterthought in future research," Male said. MHRA reportedly states that its surveillance data does not support a link between changes to menstrual periods and COVID-19 vaccines, since the number of reports is low in relation to both the number of people vaccinated and the prevalence of menstrual disorders generally. However, Male argues that approaches better equipped to compare rates of menstrual changes in vaccinated versus unvaccinated populations are needed and that the way in which data is collected makes firm conclusions difficult.

NDTV,  quoted Male saying, “Reports of menstrual changes after COVID-19 vaccination have been made for both mRNA and adenovirus-vectored vaccines. This suggests that, if there is a connection, it is likely to be a result of the immune response to vaccination, rather than to a specific vaccine component."

She explained that if a link between vaccination and menstrual changes is confirmed, this will allow individuals seeking vaccination to plan in advance for potentially altered cycles.

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