Lack of Data on Covid-19 Vaccines and Periods Inspired Two Feminist Scientists to Learn More

A long history of dismissing women’s experiences in medicine may be limiting reported side effects in clinical trials

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

Vaccine trials include tens of thousands of people in phase 3 to ensure that even rare side effects are more likely to be detected. But once the vaccine is authorized and millions of people have begun receiving it, sometimes researchers learn about other even rarer side effects not captured in the trials. But scientists could also miss a side effect if they simply don’t ask about it — or don’t record it when participants report it.

That may be why it’s taken months after the vaccines were authorized by the FDA to explore whether changes in menstruation might be a temporary side effect of the Covid-19 vaccines. It took two feminist scientists and a large social media platform to even get the possibility on people’s radar.

“Nobody thought to ask about it as a part of routine part of [trial] questionnaires,” said Katharine Lee, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in the Washington University School of Medicine Division of Public Health Sciences. “It’s frustrating as somebody who thinks a lot about these biological processes. Why wouldn’t you think to…