No problem in taking jab during periods, say docs

No problem in taking jab during periods, say docs

Chaitanya.Deshpande@timesgroup.com

Nagpur: 26.04.2021

As the country is fast getting ready to vaccinate its 18+ citizens from May 1, the spreading of misconceptions and fake news about anti-Covid inoculations too are picking up speed on social media.

Apart from the regular WhatsApp forwards holding the vaccine responsible for impotency, DNA alteration and cardiac arrest, the latest and most circulated one is about vaccination for women during their menstrual cycle. Experts have debunked all these theories.

The message reads: “Don’t take vaccine before and after 5 days of your periods because immunity will be very less during periods. Doses of vaccine first decrease immunity later it builds immunity. So, there is a high risk of attack for one who is vaccinated during periods.” Gynecologists are getting a lot of queries because of this post.

“There is no scientific basis to support this. Don’t fall for rumours. There is no reason not to get vaccinated during periods. No guidelines list menstruation as a reason to put off the vaccine,” said Dr Vaidehi Marathe, former president of Nagpur Obstetrics and Gynaecology Society (NOGS).

“This change of immunity with menstruation is very theoretical and never proved. The link that is being circulated with this message is not even a scientific journal and written by a freelance journalist and not a doctor or a research scientist,” she clarified.

President of NOGS, Dr Warsha Dhawale said, “It takes a huge amount of work for arranging vaccination, especially in remote areas. Such controversial messages may hamper the vaccination program if women refuse jabs just because of being in periods.”