Menstruating women can take COVID jabs, viral posts are fake

"Don't take the vaccination before and after 5 days of your period because immunity will be very less during periods. Dosage of vaccine first decreases immunity, later it builds immunity so there is a high risk of attack for one with vaccinated during periods (sic)," reads the message.

This post has been circulating on a large scale on Whatsapp, Instagram and Twitter.

The claim made in the post is false. So far, there's no data linking the vaccines to changes in menstruation.

FACT CHECK:

NewsMeter contacted Dr. Yuvraj, a fertility expert and gynaec who stated that the news is fake and that there is no evidence as of now that links the vaccines to changes in menstruation.

"This is absolutely false, please don't believe it. There might be a minor period issue, but that is not proved too and is less than 1 percent," he said.

In an Instagram post, he said there is no science, as of now, that prohibits taking vaccine during periods.

Dr. Tanya, University of Oxford-trained doctor in Sexual Health also posted on Instagram and called the news "fake".

Several media organizations such as The New York Times and The Guardian have also contacted health and fertility specialties for clarification on the news.

Ms. Lu-Culligan, an M.D.-Ph.D. student at Yale School of Medicine said: "So far, there are no data linking the vaccines to changes in menstruation. Even if there is a connection, one unusual period is no cause for alarm. There is a long list of triggers that can cause changes to the menstrual cycle, including stress, illness, and changes in diet and physical activity. An activated immune system might interfere with the usual balance of immune cells and molecules in the uterus. These types of disturbances have been found in studies to contribute to changes in periods, including heavy menstrual flows. But no one can say whether this may explain potential post-vaccine disruptions to the menstrual cycle".

Neither the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) nor the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) lists being on a period as a reason to put off the vaccine. Health states that several dozen women reported having heavier-than-usual periods, painful cramps, and unusual menstrual cycles after being vaccinated but given that anyone can submit anything to the system, it's all just anecdotal at this point.

Mark Turrentine, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, told Health: "There is no biologic mechanism that would account for [the] disruption of the menstrual cycle following receipt of the COVID-19 vaccine."

Dr. Turrentine also pointed out that unusual vaginal bleeding "was not a side effect reported in any of the clinical trials from the vaccine manufacturers. No large-scale adverse events regarding irregular menstrual bleeding have been noted to date".

As of now, no study nor any Health Body states that the Covid 19 vaccine should not be taken during the menstruation cycle. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology also released multiple messages and statements that there is no evidence that the Covid-19 vaccine affects fertility.

Hence, the viral post is fake and the claim is false.