If it doesn’t feel right, check it out! Study finds that COVID-19 vaccines have the potential to disrupt women’s menstrual cycles

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“Our decades of experience with vaccines also show that if there are going to be side effects, we pick them up within the first month or two.” Elizabeth Finkel (Cosmos, The Science of Everything)

In the next few years, we are going to bare witness to the abhorrent effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. I want to warn readers to be mindful of the media wordplay, governmental officials who tell you to “Trust the Science” and anyone who serves to profit from the massive vaccination rollout that we have seen in the last two years.

More and more stories are drawing attention to the fact that vaccination side effects can be more varied than what is being discussed in mainstream media.

“Side effects—while temporarily uncomfortable—are a standard part of vaccination,” says Dr. Stanley Perlman, a professor at the University of Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine and a member of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory committee. “They show that the body is responding to the shot and mounting an immune response.”

What is not being reported is the fact that women are experiencing heavy, debilitating menstrual periods. Unfortunately, like many of the other side effects, many women are not taking into consideration that the vaccine is responsible for what they are experiencing.

In October 2021, five institutions were awarded one-year grants totalling $1.67 million to explore potential links between COVID-19 vaccination and menstrual changes.

Researchers at Boston University, Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University, Michigan State University, and Oregon Health and Science University investigated whether such changes may be linked to the COVID-19 vaccine itself, or if they are coincidental, the mechanism underlying any vaccine-related changes, and how long any changes last.

The studies used blood, tissue, and saliva samples collected before and after vaccination to analyse any immune or hormone changes. Other studies used established resources such as large cohort studies and menstrual cycle tracking apps to collect and analyse data from racially, ethnically, and geographically diverse populations. Two studies focused on specific populations, including adolescents and people with endometriosis.

Some results have come back from the various studies that have been conducted. One study surveyed over 35,000 women who were fully vaccinated, with the majority of the cohort receiving a Pfizer jab followed by Moderna.

In the sample, 42% of people with regular menstrual cycles bleed more heavily than usual, while 44% reported no change after being vaccinated,” summarized researchers.

In sum, 42.1% of women reported experiencing a heavier menstrual flow after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, 14.3% reported a mix of lighter or no change, and 43.6% reported no change in flow.

The new study, “Investigating Trends in Those who Experience Menstrual Bleeding Changes After SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination,” was published in the journal Science Advances. Another study that was funded by the NIH found that COVID-19 vaccines had the potential to lengthen women’s menstrual cycles, as well.

To learn whether there was a connection between vaccination and changes in menstruation, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) recently released a notice of special interest for researchers to compare the menstruation experiences of vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

According to the NIH, as more people are vaccinated for COVID-19, it is possible to gain a better understanding of short and long-term effects of the vaccines. I want readers to STOP here and read that again. Fact-checkers have claimed that this is not experimental, but I want you to block the noise, and note that they are trying to gain a better understanding about a vaccine that they claim was safe and effective.

NIH goes on to say that scientific evidence could also help unvaccinated people understand what, if any, menstruation-related side effects to expect from a COVID-19 vaccine. If the vaccine were tested effectively, there would not be a need to better understand anything.

For my female readers, please start paying attention to your period, monitor your symptoms, and if you notice anything that does not seem right, find yourself a trusted physician to find out what is really happening to your body.