CDC conducts ‘exploratory work’ to decide whether to investigate whether COVID vaccines cause ‘menstrual irregularities’

• Concerns about whether COVID-19 vaccines have an impact on fertility have discouraged some American women from obtaining the vaccines, although the CDC has not found evidence that coronavirus vaccines cause fertility problems .
• At the end of July, CDC spokeswoman Martha Sharan told the Daily Caller News Foundation that “several studies” on the effects of vaccines on fertility were “in progress,” but indicated that “some are still in the works. planning stage “.
• More than a month later, the CDC says it is still exploring the “feasibility” of a study examining irregularities in women’s menstrual cycles after vaccines.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is doing “exploratory work” to decide whether they will investigate whether COVID-19 vaccines cause “menstrual irregularities,” the CDC told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Wednesday.

In late July, CDC spokeswoman Martha Sharan said several studies on the effects of vaccines on fertility were “underway” but assured DCNF that “some are still in the planning stages.” (RELATED: Studies on COVID-19 Vaccine’s Effects on Fertility Are ‘Ongoing’, According to CDC)

More than a month later, the CDC is still exploring the feasibility of a study examining menstrual irregularities after the vaccine – although the agency urged pregnant and breastfeeding women to get the shots in early August, citing a preliminary study that found no evidence of vaccines causing higher rates of miscarriage.

“The only update I can give you is that there are discussions going on and the CDC’s Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) team is doing exploratory work to determine the feasibility of conducting a menstrual irregularities study. after the COVID-19 vaccination, ”Sharon told DCNF. Wednesday.

Concerns about whether COVID-19 vaccines have an impact on fertility have discouraged some American women from obtaining the vaccines, although the CDC has found no evidence that coronavirus vaccines “cause fertility problems female or male ”.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced on August 30 that they have awarded $ 1.67 million in additional grants to Boston University, Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University, Michigan State University and Oregon University of Health and Sciences to “explore potential links between COVID-19 vaccination and menstrual changes.”

“Some women have reported irregular or missing periods, heavier-than-usual bleeding, and other menstrual changes after receiving COVID-19 vaccines,” the NIH said in a press release. “The new scholarships support research to determine whether such changes may be linked to the COVID-19 vaccination itself and how long those changes last. Researchers will also seek to clarify the mechanisms underlying potential menstrual changes related to the vaccine. “

“These rigorous scientific studies will improve our understanding of the potential effects of COVID-19 vaccines on menstruation, giving people who are menstruating more information about what to expect after vaccination and potentially reducing reluctance to immunization, ”National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) director Diana W. Bianchi, MD, said in a statement at the time.

An FDA spokesperson told DCNF that vaccinees should report negative effects to their health care provider and that providers should report serious side effects (as well as cases of COVID-19 resulting in hospitalization or death). death) to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). (RELATED: CDC Says ‘Pregnant People’ Should Get COVID-19 Vaccine)

“Our goal is to provide people who are menstruating with information, mainly about what to expect, because I think that was the biggest problem: no one expected it to affect the menstrual system, because the information were not collected in early vaccine studies, Bianchi told The Lily, the publication that reportedly informed the NIH of women who believed their menstrual cycles were affected by the vaccines.

Bianchi told the publication that “the [FDA] the emergency use authorization was really focused on critical safety issues ”and that“ changes in your menstrual cycle are really not a life or death issue ”, speculating that this is why the trials of Coronavirus vaccine did not ask participants about unwanted side effects on menstrual cycles.

But the director of NICHD noted that the lack of research on the links between menstrual cycle irregularities and vaccines “shows the fact that vaccine safety studies … don’t necessarily think about women’s reproductive health.”

“We’re hoping that one of the things that will come out of this is that questions will be added to clinical trial studies to include any changes in menstrual health,” Bianchi told The Lily.

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available free of charge to any eligible news publisher who can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].