Can COVID-19 vaccines cause post-menopausal bleeding?
Send this page to someone via email  Fifty-year-old Diana Davison has not had a period for more than a year. So when she started experiencing bleeding 12 hours after her first COVID-19 vaccine she was shocked. I started spotting, which is highly unusual because I havent had a period for 15 months, the Toronto-based lawyer told Global News. Davison received her primary dose of Pfizer BioNTechs mRNA vaccine on June 8 and experienced bleeding that day. By the next day, she said the bleeding was heavier. Concerned, Davison went to the emergency room, where she said she was dismissed when she expressed concerns about the bleeding being linked to her recent vaccination. Ive noticed Im not the only person in menopause whos had this happen. There must be something and we dont know what it is, then its much more worrisome, Davison said. View image in full screen Diana Davison. According to Toronto gynecologist Dr. Eliane Shore, post-menopausal bleeding can be a sign of something more serious. Story continues below advertisement  Post-menopausal bleeding is not normal and it should be assessed by a health-care practitioner, she said, adding causality can be hard to define. Maybe there is something with the vaccine  but also women and people, in general, may be highly vigilant after the vaccine and are reporting things that may have happened anyway.  Worldwide, thousands of women have reported menstrual changes post-jab, according to various studies, but still only a small handful of research exists on the topic. Dr. Tali Bogler, the chair of family medicine obstetrics at St. Michaels Hospital in Toronto said the irregularities may be attributed to the bodys short-term immune response. But, she explained the same cannot be said about women in menopause. In the post-menopausal case, there isnt a good plausible biological reason why the vaccine would cause bleeding, she told Global News. Dr. Shore said post-menopausal bleeding can be a sign of anything from low estrogen in the vagina (vaginal atrophy) to uterine cancer. Both Bogler and Shore agree the lack of studies on COVID-19 vaccines and women is disappointing. 4:48 Dispelling common myths about menopause Dispelling common myths about menopause  May 31, 2021  We havent applied a sex-and-gender lens to a lot of our public health policies, said Dr. Bogler. In fact, while there are studies taking place in the U.K. and U.S. on menstrual changes after a COVID-19 shot, there are none in Canada, she added. Story continues below advertisement  In an April 2021 study out of the U.K., 958 cases of post-vaccination menstrual irregularities, including post-menopausal bleeding, were recorded as adverse events. It also found twice as many cases of menstrual irregularities with the AstraZeneca vaccine than with Pfizer  643 versus 315. That same month, an associate professor at the University of Illinois posted about her post-vaccine experience on Twitter. After receiving hundreds of replies from users who also reported similar menstrual changes, she started a survey that apparently garnered 22,000 responses. Meantime, data collected from 637,383 individuals (who received Pfizer or AstraZeneca as their vaccine) in a separate report from the U.K. also found adverse effects are more frequently reported in younger individuals, specifically women. But reporting the changes in Canada isnt simple. The Public Health Agency of Canadas Report of Adverse Events following Immunization document doesnt include section for menstrual changes. Its somewhat infuriating, I believe, when I feel like I cant counsel my patients  on the full spectrum of potential side effects that could impact them, said Bogler. 2:17 Not enough data to suggest theres a gender imbalance on side effects for COVID-19 vaccines: Dr. Njoo Not enough data to suggest theres a gender imbalance on side effects for COVID-19 vaccines: Dr. Njoo  Apr 16, 2021  At the hospital, Davison said she was told what she was experiencing was annoying but normal. She said she didnt receive any clear answers as to why she was bleeding. Story continues below advertisement  Davison said it wasnt until her first clinic visit that she felt validated. The nurse  made sure my report would go in as an adverse reaction report, she said. Two weeks later, with no real answers, Davison is still bleeding. It has a feeling to it. Like women are being told that they dont understand their own bodies and that they shouldnt concern their pretty little heads over things, she said. She hopes doctors will take the concerns seriously so she and others can get some answers.