CHENNAI: Hidden beneath the clamour for booster doses of vaccines against the coronavirus is a health concern women have been raising across the world: significant changes in their menstrual cycles after taking the shot. With a few international organisations only now initiating research on the subject, affected women have faced little reassurance or support from the medical fraternity.
TNIE spoke to 25 women in the 20-30 age group across India. Fifteen of them said they experienced changes in their menstrual cycles after taking the vaccine.
While the nine who received Covishield reported a heavy flow, terrible pain and delayed cycles, the six women who took Covaxin reported prolonged periods.
While gynecologists TNIE spoke to in Chennai dismissed these concerns, internationally there has been a call for more research, with an editorial in the British Medical Journal in September demanding the phenomenon be studied.
This would come as a relief to Monica Sethiya (24) who was perplexed to find her periods delayed after she received the first dose of Covaxin.
“After the second dose, my periods were 47 days late,” she said, adding that her periods usually followed a 28-day cycle.
Similarly, Rekha*, whose cycle is usually 30 days long, saw her periods delayed by over 45 days for two consecutive cycles after taking Covishield.
Nandini*, who took Covaxin, had a very different experience.
“I was diagnosed with PCOS and haven’t had a period since 2019. I underwent all kinds of treatments but to no avail. After I got both doses of Covaxin in July, I got my period but the bleeding lasted for about a week and the pain was unbearable. It’s been two months now and my periods haven’t returned.”
Out of 15 women, who experienced changes in their cycle, seven said their periods returned to normal after two cycles while the others visited gynaecologists with unfortunate results, in some cases.
For instance, Nichaela Shammah (23), who had very regular cycles, was diagnosed as having PCOS when she told the gynaecologist about the changes after receiving the vaccine.
“The doctor denied any vaccine connection and instead prescribed oral contraceptives and exercise for PCOS,” she said.
Rekha too took her concerns to a gynaecologist, only to have them dismissed.
“The gynaecologist denied any link to the vaccine, perhaps to avoid contributing to vaccine hesitancy. But, I would have felt better if they had given me all the information so I could be better prepared.”
Yet, the government of India has recorded at least some of these issues.
A monthly report of Serious Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) from the National AEFI Committee dated September 14 lists the case of a 22-year-old woman hospitalised due to a delayed menstrual cycle after taking Covaxin, categorising it as a ‘coincidental’ event.
TNIE found doctors in Chennai prone to outrightly refuting any vaccine links.
“I am surprised that people are experiencing these changes. This is the first I am hearing of this,” said Dr S Vijaya, Director, Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Senior Family Physician of Kauvery Hospital, Dr Kavitha Sundaravadanam, said, “There is no proof to base this on and no known side effects like this either.”
She attributed these changes to mental stress from the pandemic and “bad lifestyle”, adding that with more patients getting regular check-ups, these changes were being noticed.
Deputy Director at ICMR, National Institute of Epidemiology, Dr Prabhdeep Kaur also said she was not aware of such cases and added that these aspects are explored in clinical trials.
However, she said if a large number of women report this, a systemic investigation can be conducted.
At the end of August, the National Institutes of Health in the US did just that, awarding $1.67 million to researchers to investigate potential links between Covid-19 vaccines and menstrual changes.
As Dr Victoria Male said in the BMJ editorial, “One important lesson is that the effects of medical interventions on menstruation should not be an afterthought in future research.”
US study
Researchers at several universities, including Boston University, Harvard Medical School and Johns Hopkins University, have been told to investigate potential links between Covid vaccines and menstrual changes.
*Name changed
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