health-related fact checks

FALSE: Vaccines should not be taken 5 days before and after menstruation

Rappler.com

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FALSE: Vaccines should not be taken 5 days before and after menstruation
Menstrual cycles do not affect the effectivity of vaccines, say experts
At a glance:
  • Claim: Vaccines should not be taken 5 days before and after menstruation.
  • Rating: FALSE
  • The facts: Menstrual cycles do not affect immunity related to vaccines. 
  • Why we fact-checked this: This claim was spotted by the Rappler fact check team on Facebook. It was posted by multiple pages and accounts.
Complete details:

On April 24, a false claim circulated on Facebook saying, “Don’t take vaccine before and after 5 days of your periods because immunity will be very less during periods.”

The post states “Dosage of vaccine First decreases immunity so, there is a high risk of attack for one who vaccinated during periods.”

The claims are false. 

Menstrual cycles do not affect immunity in relation to vaccines.

In a fact check by The Quint, several gynecologists said there is no truth to claims that periods affect the effectivity of a vaccine.

“There is no problem if a woman takes vaccine during, after and before periods, unless she is planning for a baby,” said one gynecologist.

Another gynecologist is quoted by The Quint as saying that “periods do not have any impact on the immunity of a person. You can take the vaccine even during your periods” as “periods have no effect on the vaccine.”

Further, in an article by UAE’s newspaper The Khaleej Times, a family medicine specialist physician stated that “so far, there is no data to suggest women’s immunity reduces during their periods or that vaccines lead to changes in menstruation. Periods have no effect on vaccine efficacy.”

The doctors cited in both articles encouraged people to take vaccines as soon as they’re available to them. 

There is also no proof that vaccines weaken the immune system. On the contrary, the American Center for Disease Control and Prevention writes that vaccines increase immunity as they imitate an infection and produce T-cells and antibodies that help fight any future disease.

The Department of Health itself said vaccines do not weaken one’s immune system. – Therese Litonjua/Rappler.com

This article was written by a Rappler intern and reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s internship program here.

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one fact check at a time.

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