(Kate Dwyer/ Women’s Health) — Over the past few months, a number of people have taken to social media to report heavy, painful periods, saying they believe their menstrual cycle was disrupted by the COVID vaccine.
To track this phenomenon, Dr. Kate Clancy, a biological anthropologist and associate professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is administering an open survey to compile qualitative menstrual data.
“A colleague told me she has heard from others that their periods were heavy post-vax. I’m curious whether other menstruators have noticed changes too?” she asked in February via tweet, a month before launching her survey. “I’m a week and a half out from dose 1 of Moderna, got my period maybe a day or so early, and am gushing like I’m in my 20s again.” (…)