Women say COVID vaccines affected their periods. A new study adds to mounting evidence.

I've spent the majority of my adult life on birth control pills, taking them continuously, so my period has been nonexistent. So imagine my surprise when, in December 2021, I got my period, along with excruciating menstrual cramps. It was so out of the norm, I went to the emergency room, concerned that the pain and blood was a sign of something scary like an ectopic pregnancy or an undiagnosed disease.

I never got an official answer in the emergency room or with the gynecologist I followed up with shortly after my ER visit. It wasn’t until I sought out a second gynecologist a few months later did she suggest my symptoms may have something to do with my recent COVID vaccine.

While I had also experienced the more typical post-shot reactions of slight fever and muscle aches, it never occurred to me that my COVID vaccine might have an impact on my menstrual cycle. But there is mounting evidence to support the theory that it can.