When clinical trials began testing the various COVID-19 vaccines, one question participants weren’t asked about was whether they experienced any changes to their menstrual cycles or unexpected bleeding after getting vaccinated.
Soon after the vaccines were rolled out to the public, however, people began talking to their doctors about what they were experiencing. Initially, some clinicians were dismissive, the study authors write. "In media coverage, medical doctors and public health experts hastened to say that there was 'no biological mechanism' or 'no data' to support a relationship between vaccine administration and menstrual changes," the authors write. "In other cases, experts declared that these changes were more likely a result of 'stress.'" But these types of changes are not unheard of: vaccines for typhoid, Hepatitis B, and HPV have sometimes been associated with menstrual irregularities.
To gain a better understanding of what was happening, researchers, including Clancy, launched a survey in April 2021. More than 39,000 people responded—91% of whom identified only as women, and 9% of whom were gender-diverse—and the results were published Friday in the journal Science Advances.
Among those who have regular periods, 41% of respondents reported heavier bleeding after getting vaccinated, while 44% said they didn’t notice any change. For those who do not typically menstruate, breakthrough bleeding was reported by 71% of people on long-acting reversible contraceptives, 39% of individuals on gender-affirming hormones, and 66% of postmenopausal people. People who are older, and those who classified themselves in the survey as non-white or Hispanic/Latinx, had a higher chance of reporting a heavier flow post-vaccination, as did people who experienced a fever or fatigue as a side effect of COVID-19 vaccination, and individuals who have experienced endometriosis, menorrhagia, or fibroids.
It's too soon for researchers to make any conclusions about what the results might mean; the study relied on self-reported experiences, which presents challenges. For example, people experiencing menstrual changes may have been more likely to respond to the survey. Researchers can’t yet say that the vaccine caused these changes—and if it did, exactly how or why. But one theory is that it has to do with how the immune system responds to the vaccine. As the study notes: “Generally, changes to menstrual bleeding are not uncommon or dangerous, yet attention to these experiences is necessary to build trust in medicine.”
"We suspect that for most people the changes associated with COVID-19 vaccination are short-term, and we encourage anyone who is worried to contact their doctor for further care,” co-author Katharine Lee, an anthropology professor at Tulane University, said in a press release. “We want to reiterate that getting the vaccine is one of the best ways to prevent getting very sick with COVID, and we know that having COVID itself can lead not only to changes in periods, but also hospitalization, long COVID and death.”
TODAY'S CORONAVIRUS OUTLOOK
More than 562.4 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 9 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 6.36 million people have died. On July 17, there were more than 449,000 new cases and 692 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending, in terms of cases:
And in terms of deaths:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
And here's every country that has reported over 10 million cases:
The U.S. had recorded more than 89.5 million coronavirus cases as of 9 a.m. E.T. today. More than 1.02 million people have died. On July 17, 21,091 new cases were reported and 11 new deaths were confirmed in the U.S.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending in terms of cases:
And in terms of deaths:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of July 18. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
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WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci has announced that he will almost certainly retire by January 2025, at the end of President Biden’s first term. Fauci, 81, the government’s top infectious disease expert, told Politico that he hopes to “leave behind an institution where I have picked the best people in the country, if not the world, who will continue my vision.”
There’s been a lengthy string of Omicron subvariants: BA.2, BA.2.12.1, BA.4, BA.5, and so on. So why haven’t we moved on to the next letter in the Greek alphabet, Pi? My colleague Jamie Ducharmeexplains that it has to do with the way the virus has been mutating recently: smaller changes that are generally similar to Omicron's structure, rather than dramatic leaps. Some experts, however, say we have to think about the naming process differently. “If you have a variant that is driving a sizable epidemic in multiple places throughout the world, it’s easy to give these a label and would help with everyone understanding what’s going on," explains Trevor Bedford, a professor in the vaccine and infectious disease division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle.
Another question at the front of people’s minds with the new, highly contagious BA.5 subvariant: is it easier to catch COVID-19 outdoors now? As my colleague Tara Law explains, while its transmissibility means the chances of getting COVID-19 outside have likely increased, that doesn’t mean gathering outdoors doesn’t continue to offer some protection compared to being inside. Still, as Tara writes, “being outside has never been a sure way to avoid COVID-19 transmission—especially at crowded events.”
Many of us probably remember the chatter about a supposed silver lining as people flocked indoors and stayed put during the first COVID-19 lockdowns: nature would have a chance to heal. Now, a New York Times story unpacks what scientists have learned about how the pandemic—and the subsequent slowdown of human activity being dubbed the “anthropause”—has impacted the environment. A growing body of research reveals a complex picture, where “even modest changes in human behavior can have outsize benefits for other species,” Emily Anthese reports. The findings could help guide how we think about things such as rapidly ramping up travel again.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com. If you have specific questions you'd like us to answer, please send them to covidquestions@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Kyla Mandel and edited by Angela Haupt.
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