Study Shows How COVID Vaccines Affect People’s Periods

Like all vaccines, COVID vaccines have side effects. However, since everyone is talking about them and their circumstances are so peculiar, their effects are dissected and analyzed as an average flu shot.

Among these side effects, there is one that affects people with periods, which many report that the COVID vaccine affects those days of the month, which can be scary. The researchers conducted a survey of a large number of people with menstrual periods and found some trends and patterns that may reassure anyone who has experienced fluctuations in their period shortly after their COVID vaccine.

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The study, published in the journal Science Advances, is the largest to date. The researchers analyzed the responses of more than 39,000 people between the ages of 18 and 80, participants around the world who had been vaccinated and had not contracted COVID prior to their vaccinations.

The results showed that 44% of respondents experienced no change in their menstrual cycle. Of those who did experience changes, 42% reported heavier post-vaccination bleeding and 14% lighter periods.

“I think it’s important for people to know that this can happen so they don’t get scared, they don’t get shocked, they don’t get caught without supplies,” study author and biological anthropologist Katherine Lee told the New York Times.

Other factors highlighted by the study are the fact that older people, people using birth control, and people who have been pregnant in the past or who have had conditions such as endometriosis or polycystic ovarian syndrome are more likely to develop more severe symptoms after vaccination had periods.

Hispanics and Latinos, and people who had side effects such as fever or fatigue after their vaccination, were more likely to have missed periods.

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Although it’s not known why vaccines trigger these changes in some people, researchers have a few theories. The hypothalamus secretes the hormones responsible for regulating periods and can be affected by external factors such as a shot. The endometrium has also historically been associated with people’s immune systems, making it reasonable that it becomes compromised when the body is exposed to new pathogens.

Temporary menstrual changes after vaccination are normal and can be viewed as changes in temperature or blood pressure. As long as these irregularities are temporary and the changes are nothing out of the ordinary, there should be no cause for concern.