13,000 UK women say COVID vaccine changed periods, experts say not linked

Experts have said that there is no evidence to believe that the coronavirus vaccine affects fertility. This comes as Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) received more than 13,000 reports from women across the United Kingdom, who say they experienced changes in their period after taking the vaccine, Sky News reported. 

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“Women should feel confident getting the jab and that reports of changes are not unexpected, as similar reactions have been observed with the flu vaccine,” Dr Viki Male, a reproductive immunologist at Imperial College London said, as per Sky News. 

Online anti-vaccination groups have been fuelling conspiracy theories that have led to fears among some women. Hence, experts are concerned about the increasing number of young women who are hesitant about taking the vaccine. 

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“We know that sex hormones affect the immune system and the immune system affects sex hormones and we have some evidence that the flu vaccine, given a certain time in your cycle, can slightly dampen the amount of progesterone you have, and it’s the balance between oestrogen and progesterone that builds up and breaks down the lining of your uterus. So if these get slightly out of whack then we might expect to get a heavier period or a later period,” Male said.

She quashed the claims of the vaccine have a connection with fertility issues by saying that there is no scientific ground to this theory.

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“We have quite a lot of evidence that these vaccines don’t reduce your chances of getting pregnant. In the clinical trials, people were asked not to become pregnant but nonetheless accidents happen,” she added. 

However, Male said that if a woman catches COVID-19 in late pregnancy, it can lead to an increased risk of pre-term birth, stillbirth, need of intensive care for the baby and mother, as per Sky News. 

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Last week, the Union Health Ministry of India had said that there is no scientific evidence suggesting COVID-19 vaccination can cause infertility in men and women. It added that the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) has also recommended COVID vaccination for all lactating women, terming it as safe with no need to stop or pause breastfeeding before or after the inoculation.