India on Sunday recorded 30,773 new cases and 309 deaths, taking the cumulative caseload to 33,444,662 (332,158 active cases) and the death toll to 444,838.
Worldwide: more than 228.12 million cases and over 4.68 million deaths.
Vaccination in India: 804,372,331 doses. Worldwide: Over 5.88 billion doses.
Is there a link between COVID vaccination and abnormal – though temporary – changes in women’s menstrual cycles?
While 30,000 women in the UK have told officials about changes in periods or unexpected vaginal bleeding after taking the vaccine, Harvard Medical School and Johns Hopkins University are among five US institutions that will soon begin a study on the link.
Currently, no vaccine mentions irregular periods among side effects, but globally it is emerging as a significant rights issue. the new York Times “This is an important, overlooked issue,” said Dr. Hugh Taylor of the Yale School of Medicine.
in India too
In India, discussions have so far been limited to whether women should get the shot while on their period, with the FOGSI (Federation of Obstetric and Gynecological Societies of India) issuing a statement in April saying, “Nothing affecting vaccination There is no physiological, endocrine or immunological basis. Based on the day of the menstrual cycle”.
However, patients in India have spoken to their doctors about the changes that occur after one cycle. Mumbai based gynecologist Dr Kiran Coelho TOI. told that 50% of her patients, who had taken the vaccine, complained of irregular menstruation. But she said, “Most of my patients have had some irregularity in their periods since the start of the Covid pandemic. It is the overall stress that affects ovulation and periods. “
probable cause
After vaccination, an inflammatory reaction can potentially occur in the lining of the uterus called the endometrium, which, similar to other side effects of the vaccine, can affect menstruation for a short time, says Jan van Dis, at the university of Rochester, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology Was toldWashington Post In July.
In addition, mental or physical stress can suppress the release of hormones from the brain that tell the ovaries and other endocrine organs in the body what to do, which can potentially delay a woman’s period or flow temporarily. may change, said Andrea Adlow, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Harvard Medical School.
After a record-breaking 2.31 crore immunizations on September 17, India on Saturday saw a drop in daily vaccination numbers to a little less than 85.26 lakh. In fact, since the last time India administered over 10 million doses before Friday, the daily numbers were between 6 million and 9 million.
Perhaps a major reason why a large daily difference in the dose of vaccine administered may be the number of vaccination centers in operation. For example, when it was PM Narendra Modi’s birthday on Friday, at that time more than one lakh vaccination centers were running. On Saturday and Sunday (which is today) that number sharply dropped to less than 70,000, with vaccination centers less than 30,000, although this number may vary as the day progresses.
The reason for the wide difference in the number of vaccination centers on a daily basis is not very clear, although earlier, due to the shortage of vaccines, many centers in the states had to be closed until a new stock of vaccine was available. delivered. However, according to the government’s claims, the vaccine supply situation is believed to be improving since last month.
Another factor in fluctuating vaccination numbers could be low registration numbers. On Friday, the registration number crossed the one crore mark for the first time in nearly three weeks – earlier, the eight-digit registration mark was crossed on August 31, which coincidentally administered the second highest number of vaccine doses, over 1.41 had gone. Ten million.
However, the low registration numbers could also be due to the fact that both private and government immunization centers are now allowing walk-ins for vaccination – which was not the case earlier.
Also there is the non-availability of government-run vaccination sites, which give free doses, unlike private immunization centers that charge Rs 780 per dose of Covishield. For example, on the CoWIN app, many areas show only private – read paid – immunization centers and no government immunization centers if one books a slot. It could probably also serve as a deterrent for many people to get their dose.
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