It doesn't take much for a dangerous rumor.

The case of two young women from Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia shows how it can spread.

Both report that they had been advised by their vaccinators to "better not get pregnant" in the coming months.

The effect of vaccination has not been fully researched in this context.

Only months later did the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) recommend corona vaccination for pregnant women and women who want to have children, the decision was published last week.

Even before that, there was never a plausible scientific justification that a vaccination against corona could make sterile or endanger pregnancy.

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Reinhard Bingener

Political correspondent for Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Bremen based in Hanover.

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There is also a rumor among young women that the vaccination affects the menstrual period.

However, gynecologists see no causal connection between Covid-19 vaccinations and irregular menstrual bleeding.

"The cycle, ovulation and menstruation react constantly and sensitively to external and internal influences," reports the professional association of gynecologists.

But both myths persist - especially online.

And that can be a problem.

The rumors contribute to the fact that women are more skeptical of the corona vaccination than men, says Cornelia Betsch, professor of health communication at the University of Erfurt.

"Women in particular have security concerns." Betsch heads the Covid-19 Snapshot Monitoring (COSMO), a survey on, among other things, the willingness to vaccinate in the population.

It has increased rather than decreased in the past few months, but there are in some cases clear differences between individual groups.

Accordingly, women tend to be vaccinated less often, as do people with a migration background or a lower level of education.

East Germans are also less willing to be vaccinated than West Germans.

A low willingness to vaccinate also correlates with a lower level of trust in the federal government.

"18 percent of the unvaccinated express their dissatisfaction with the government," says Betsch.

She calls for the vaccination campaign to be depoliticized.

Now it is no longer up to politicians to convince people to vaccinate, but to doctors.

For women in particular, they played a central role.

“Gynecologists are the doctors who see women most often.

The relationship of trust is different, ”says the scientist.

Low vaccination rate among refugees

There is also uncertainty among refugees when it comes to the corona vaccination. In an interview with the FAZ, the head of an initial reception center reported confidentially that for a long time only a few of the newly arrived asylum seekers had themselves vaccinated, although his facility had always tried hard to get them. In the course of the health check shortly after arrival, there is an explanation about the vaccination. In the facility, young volunteers also go door to door to advertise a corona vaccination in face-to-face meetings. “They provide information in all languages, about all vaccines,” he says. "Without children, the quota was a maximum of 20 to 25 percent for a long time."

The situation only improved when the vaccinations were no longer administered by external teams, but by the facility's own doctors. The director now estimates the vaccination rate at 35 to 40 percent. A step forward, but even with this the rate is still well below the population average. Currently, a little more than 62 percent of people nationwide are considered fully vaccinated.