It is logical that women had side effects much more often after a corona vaccination, because they have a more active immune system than men. But we should have taken women’s complaints more seriously, says professor of sex and gender-sensitive medicine Sabine Oertelt.
In women, the risk of side effects after a corona shot is twice as high as in men. This was shown last week by research by side effects center Lareb. In particular, complaints such as nausea and a red arm were much more common among women than among men.
“These results are not surprising,” says Agnes Kant, director of Lareb. “It is known that women on average have a more active immune system than men. As a result, they respond more strongly to vaccinations.” This can also be seen with the flu shot.
Professor Oertelt conducts research into, among other things, the biological differences between the immune systems of men and women. “Women are also more likely to have allergies,” she says. “These are all consequences of that more active immune system.”
Kant does not think it is a disaster that women are more likely to experience adverse effects from a corona vaccine, as long as the side effects remain mild. “Nausea, headache and fever were common. That’s very annoying, but not serious,” she says.
A very small number of people went into acute shock after vaccination, Oertelt adds. “This happened very rarely. But it was almost all women.”
Menstrual disorder dismissed as a psychological complaint
“We can’t change much about how the female body works,” says Oertelt about the side effects. “But we should have taken women’s complaints more seriously.” She refers to the many menstrual complaints that women reported.
Side effects center Lareb received many reports about menstruation from the start of the vaccination campaign in 2021. For example, women had heavier periods. There were also women who had been in menopause for years and suddenly started menstruating again.
Oertelt noticed that the response was typical: “Gynecologists expressed their doubts. Various authorities said that the complaints were only due to stress.” The menstrual complaints were only registered as a side effect after many messages on social media.
According to Oertelt, this fits in seamlessly with the medical history of women, in which their physical complaints were regularly labeled as psychological suffering. “We really needed large studies to prove that the corona vaccine can indeed have an effect on menstruation,” says Oertelt.
The director of the side effects center recognizes this image. “Lareb has indicated several times that a menstrual disorder may be a side effect of the corona vaccines,” says Kant. Lareb did this in response to the large number of reports.
Researchers lump most data together
Oertelt also sees room for improvement for the more recent research results. “Only one in five corona studies distinguishes between men and women,” she says. “That can be improved. With specific knowledge about both groups, we can better monitor how the body works.”
When developing the corona vaccine, it was ensured that there were enough women in the group for which the vaccine was tested. According to Oertelt, in general, more and more attention is being paid to gender differences in medical science.