Several years ago, this newsletter launched with the intent of focusing entirely on the health and wellness of kids, tweens and teens. Then last year, when COVID upended everything, the content pivoted accordingly. Recently, it’s found a balance between the two, a mash-up of puberty, pandemic, and bits and pieces falling into the Venn diagram oval in between. All of which makes today’s topic – the connection between COVID, vaccines, and menstrual bleeding – uniquely central.
 
The claim: Throughout April, articles emerged asking whether the COVID vaccine could be having an impact on women’s periods. And, like this NY Times editorial, most landed on an answer that boiled down to it’s possible, but no one really knows. Most of the published pieces – and they continue to accumulate, including this one and this one – barely touched the question of whether COVID itself could cause menstrual irregularities.
 
The amazing part: The vast majority of these articles begin with the premise that getting a period is a sign of health…or at least getting a regular, predictable, normal-for-you period. Why is this amazing? Because for so long, periods have been cast in the column of disease, a recurrent problem to be solved, bandaged and medicated. It’s nice to read a flood of articles approaching the topic of periods the way Gen Z talks about them, tossing around cramps and clots like they’re no big whoop.
 
The older generation: Anecdotally, I have heard from a handful of friends who thought they were long done with their periods until Aunt Flo returned for a surprise visit shortly after being COVID-vaxxed. After a fair amount of digging, I cannot find much written specifically about the return of periods post-vaccination, but I have suggested to each of these women that they consult with their adult physicians and please report back to this curious pediatrician where those conversations land. Meanwhile, I will keep hunting for information on this front on behalf of all the parents of adolescents who may be going through their own body transformations, and I promise to share what I learn.
 
The rumor mill: The COVID vaccine currently serves as ground zero for fear mongering, so it shouldn’t take anyone by surprise when a possible side effect goes viral. I completely agree with the vast majority of scientists and health care workers who have concluded that reported shifts in menstrual bleeding around the time of COVID vaccination deserves more study. But despite what your social media feed might insist, there are other claims that don’t warrant the same legitimacy. Like the one about vaccine shedding: the claim that a person who is vaccinated literally sheds vaccine and this, in turn, causes reproductive problems for bystanders. No, this is not a thing and yes, the decision by this Florida school to ban vaccinated teachers is completely bananas.
 
When it comes to the intersection of bleeding and COVID vaccine, questions far outweigh answers. A couple of thoughts as we begin to collect and comb through data. First, it feels like researchers ought to begin asking about a bunch of different possible triggers around irregular menstrual bleeding – this phenomenon is nothing new, and yet I for one never thought to ask my patients who came in with concerns (and this is a common worry!) about any exposures to vaccines, illnesses, substances, you name it. Sometimes trendy topics help us to rethink how we question patients. Second, there exist dozens and dozens of menstrual tracking apps that have saved countless women the task of remembering the date of her last period. Why not harness that data, with the user’s consent of course!, to gather some quick, albeit anecdotal, evidence about what the heck is happening to a much larger group of women?
 
On a completely tangential note but since we’re talking about the menstrual cycle… this profile of Linda Griffith, endometriosis researcher and re-brander, is well-worth your time. Like so many other quiet crusaders, she’s one to know about. And now, for the links:
 
COVID…
 
Not so COVID…
 
Reason # 512 that we’re glad vaccination has reduced mask requirements…