The online newspaper: Norwegian Patient Injury Compensation has received 159 claims for compensation in connection with menstrual disorders.
Vaccine researcher and immunologist at UIO Gunnveig Grødeland says that menstrual disorders were not taken into account enough in the calculation when the vaccines were being developed. This is probably because we generally know too little about the menstrual cycle.
– Through my work on this, I have found out how insanely little we know about the menstrual cycle. There is a good deal of descriptive research, but there is no question of understanding the details of how the immune system contributes to the process properly, she explains.
– Never ended up on the agenda
But menstrual disorders after vaccines are nothing new, says Grødeland.
– The first report I have found on this is from 1913 when they tested a typhoid fever vaccine in the USA. The same has been seen with other vaccines, such as the flu and HPV vaccines, but it has never really hit the agenda until now when there have been huge numbers being vaccinated at once.
– I was shocked by how little we researchers actually knew about it. No one fully understands the cause, although we have some possible explanations. I hope that the attention to this can lead to us doing more research on women’s health in the future.
Lower threshold for vaccine injuries
Grødeland points out that all vaccines will always have side effects. At the same time, she states that the requirements around approvals are typically extra strict for vaccines since they must be used on people who are initially healthy. For example, it is easier to accept side effects for a drug that will increase the life expectancy of a sick person.
She also states that there is a lower threshold for receiving approved compensation for vaccine injuries compared to side effects from other medicines. This is a conscious choice by the health authorities as vaccines, in addition to increasing protection for the individual, will also benefit society as a whole.
– You knew there were going to be side effects. Of course, what was not known was which rare side effects the vaccine was going to cause. That is why the conditional approval that was first given is extremely important, as this obliged the authorities to follow up any side effects that appear extra carefully.
At the same time, she thinks it is terrible that someone has been hit hard by side effects, especially those who have experienced serious side effects and deaths.
– That is why I am glad that we in Norway and Denmark stopped vaccination with AstraZeneca as quickly as we did. There are other countries that still use it, which is totally incomprehensible to me. Of course, it is terrible for those who have been affected by this, and I am also glad that Norway has a system in place for patient injury compensation.
– Shout out loud nonsense
Grødeland believes that FHI has been sober with recommendations for different parts of the population, and has ensured that there has been a good balance between vaccination and the risk of side effects.
She explains that basic protection through two or three doses was important for healthy adults, but that it is now very important that the elderly get the increased protection they need through a fourth dose.
– It is as I have said throughout the pandemic, it is very important to vaccinate, but do not take more doses than you need. The use of vaccines must always have a clear purpose in the population group where they are used, and the potential benefit must always be seen in the context of side effects. That is why I also think it is absolutely ridiculous to give vaccines against covid-19 to children, and also to operate with more booster doses for healthy adults.
– Our recommendations were correct
Subject director of FHI Preben Aavitsland thinks it is a shame that some people get serious side effects from the vaccination, but believes that the figure of a thousand compensation claims at NPE must be seen in light of the fact that more than 11 million doses have now been given to 4.2 million people in Norway.
– When introducing completely new vaccines, there will always be some uncertainty about the occurrence of rare side effects, even though several tens of thousands have been vaccinated in the trials before the vaccine is put into use. This means that we can detect any very rare side effects when very many people have been vaccinated, says Aavitsland to Nettavisen.
– We believe that our recommendations were correct when they were given with the knowledge that was available. Had we known what we know today about the vaccines from AstraZeneca and Janssen, we would not have used them.