THE FACTS: A false conspiracy theory circulated on social media suggesting that people who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 can experience changes in their cycle or miscarriages, solely by being physically close to a person who received the vaccine. On Tuesday, The Associated Press reported on a private school in Miami that warned teachers and staff against taking the COVID-19 vaccine, citing the baseless theory. One false Instagram post accused vaccinated people of “negatively impacting women’s menstrual cycles” and falsely claimed that miscarriages were “up 400%.” Multiple social media posts referred to the baseless theory as a form of “shedding,” including an Instagram post that inaccurately blamed “extended or extremely heavy cycles” on “being around people who are recently vaccinated and shedding.” Dr. Jen Gunter, an obstetrician-gynecologist and author, told the AP in a call that the vaccine cannot be shed, nor is it infectious. “It is not biologically possible for the vaccine to do that,” Gunter said. The false posts weaved together multiple debunked theories, such as period syncing, Gunter noted. Period syncing is a popular belief that women who are in close proximity to one another can have their periods align. “I think this represents a gross misunderstanding of the menstrual cycle. This ties into the myth of period syncing, which is not a thing,” Gunter said. “We don’t give off auras that affect other people’s menstrual cycles.” Some women have reported a fluctuation in their menstrual cycle after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, but so far the reports have been anecdotal. Experts are still determining whether those fluctuations may be linked to stress or immune reactions people have after getting a vaccine. “When you mount a very robust immune response, that can release hormones that change your menstrual cycle,” said Dr. Andrea L. Cox, professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, noting that the change shouldn’t be long-term. Either way, irregular periods can’t be spread from person to person. COVID-19 vaccines do not affect fertility or cause miscarriages, data shows. “Not only do they not cause miscarriages in the people who are near vaccinated people, they do not even cause miscarriages in the people who got them during pregnancy,” Cox said. Last week, new data was published in the New England Journal of Medicine by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bolstering evidence COVID-19 vaccines are safe and do not cause miscarriages. The results are based on reports from over 35,000 U.S. women who received either the Moderna or Pfizer shots while pregnant. The rates of miscarriages or premature births were comparable to rates reported before the pandemic.
— Associated Press writer Arijeta Lajka in New York contributed this report.
Video misrepresents Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial protocol
CLAIM: Pfizer warns people not to have unprotected sex after the second COVID-19 vaccine dose for up to 28 days because of the risk of “birth defects due to genetic manipulation.”
THE FACTS: A TikTok video that claims the Pfizer vaccine can cause birth defects resurfaced this week after a large study was published last week and provided further evidence that the COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna are safe for pregnant women. The false claim began circulating in December. “Page 132 of Pfizer vaccine..basically says no unprotected sex up to 28 days after 2nd dose due to reproductive safety risk..this is for males and females..births defects due to genetic manipulation,” text in the video falsely states. The AP has debunked posts claiming the COVID-19 vaccine can alter DNA. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in December. Before that, the vaccine was tested in clinical trials that excluded pregnant women. Page 132 of a Pfizer protocol document instructs clinical trial participants to take measures to avoid becoming pregnant or getting someone pregnant “for a minimum of 28 days after the last dose of study intervention.” Pfizer began testing the COVID-19 vaccine on pregnant women in February. Medications and vaccines are typically tested first in young, healthy people who are not pregnant or at risk of getting pregnant, said Dr. Andrea L. Cox, a professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Once proven to be safe among healthy adults who are not pregnant, drugs and vaccines can be tested on pregnant people, children and more vulnerable populations. “Whenever clinical trials are run and usually, again, no matter what you’re testing, there is a higher safety bar set for pregnant people because it’s key that we know something before we put a developing, potentially a developing fetus at risk as well as the pregnant woman,” Cox said. Dr. Arnold Monto, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, said there was nothing unusual about Pfizer’s instructions to clinical trial participants. “I think the wording on contraception is pretty typical of an early study when you are being cautious,” Monto said.
— Arijeta Lajka
Chicago Police Department did not tweet in support of Chauvin
CLAIM: The Chicago Police Department tweeted, “We are all Derek Chauvin.”
THE FACTS: Social media users shared a fabricated screenshot last weekend that purported to show the Chicago Police Department openly taking a stand on Twitter in support of Derek Chauvin, who was convicted for the murder of George Floyd. The fake tweet included a photo of Chauvin taken during his trial and was quickly shared online as if it was real. Social media users circulated a screenshot of the fabricated tweet that said, “That’s what we have been saying this whole time.” The Twitter account behind the retweet has a bio that reads, “If I tweet it, second guess it.” The Chicago Police Department knocked down the false post on their official account and said they reported the incident to the social media platform. On Monday, the department said the manipulated image went against their values. “Not only does this synthetic and manipulated image, which is antithetical to our values, reflect the very worst of disinformation on social media, it also puts our officers & communities at risk by widening the gap in trust that we are working so hard to build, bridge & restore,” reads a tweet from the department. Floyd’s death sparked international outrage and nationwide protests against police brutality after a video circulated showing Chauvin pinning Floyd to the pavement with a knee to his neck. Chauvin was convicted in Floyd’s death on April 20.