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After receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson vaccines, many people feel relief — and many also experience some temporary side effects, including nausea, muscle pain, and headaches. Doctors agree that, unless they last longer than a few days, none of these reactions are cause for concern. But now, people are worrying about a new, previously unreported side effect: heavier, early, or otherwise irregular menstrual periods.

In February, Kate Clancy, PhD, asked her Twitter followers whether any menstruators had noticed anything odd after receiving the vaccine. “A colleague told me she has heard from others that their periods were heavy post-vax,” she wrote. “I’m a week and a half out from dose 1 of Moderna, got my period maybe a day or so early, and am gushing like I’m in my 20s again.”

Dr. Clancy’s replies were inundated with similar stories. Some said they started spotting unexpectedly; several mentioned that they were experiencing period symptoms, including cramping and bleeding, for the first time since getting IUDs or going through menopause. And similar conversations are happening elsewhere on the internet, too: There are numerous threads on Reddit tracking the relationship between menstruation and the vaccines. After her tweet gained traction, Dr. Clancy began collecting information for a scientific research study devoted to the vaccine’s impact on periods.

As of now, there’s no scientific evidence of a direct connection. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has been tracking side effects through the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), at least 32 people reported changes to their periods — but this isn’t a huge reason to worry, since around 56,000 people were included in the report. 

However, there are a few possible reasons for the pattern documented on Twitter and Reddit. Heather Bartos, MD, a Texas OB-GYN, says that any change in stress level (even if that change is just pure, straight-up relief) can impact your period. She’s observed these changes since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and since people have started to get vaccinated. “Just the stress of the pandemic, people have come in with menstrual irregularities, not having periods,” Dr. Bartos tells Refinery29. “I always say, a one-off or a two-off period is not a concern. But when it gets to be a three, four, five, they’re all different, that’s a little more concerning.”

Dr. Bartos adds that it isn’t unusual for people with IUDs to notice unusual bleeding when they get a cold or other flus and infections. And if you’re experiencing side effects from the vaccine, particularly a fever, you might notice a more painful period. These symptoms, rather than the vaccine itself, could affect your cycle — and research has shown that, due to estrogen levels, people who menstruate are more likely to experience a stronger immune response and more powerful side effects.

“If you’re having a fever, everything’s going to kind of ache. When I get a fever, the joints that are more prone to arthritis will hurt more. The areas that are prone to weakness will just ache more,” Dr. Bartos says. “So if you have a history of endometriosis or adenomyosis, or these kinds of things where it’s just not normal tissue and it gets crampy anyway, it’s likely to get worse if there’s a fever.” 

Periods and menstrual pain are far too often medically overlooked and written off — just look at how long it takes for someone to be diagnosed with endometriosis — so any possible connection between menstruation and the COVID vaccine is worth investigating. Dr. Bartos notes that the vaccine is still new, and there’s still a lot for epidemiologists to study.

But right now, there’s tons of evidence supporting the fact that even the worst of the vaccine’s side effects are temporary and harmless. “People think that the side effects of vaccines are harmful, and they get worried when they look at it and read into it, but it’s actually a good thing,” Abisola Olulade, MD, a San Diego-based physician, tells Refinery29. “It tells us that your immune system is working, and it’s responding in the way that we want it to.”

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Outfit Details:
Hannah Artwear Dress, JB x Neely & Chloe Bag, Aeyde Sandals

As the weather begins to really warm up, I begin sifting through my wardrobe in search of styles with shorter hemlines. Along with keeping me cool and comfortable, I love the way mini dresses add a youthful look, especially when paired with simple sandals or sneakers. For me, most spring days are dress days, so slipping into a mini once or twice a week seems only natural. From classic whites, to botanical florals, find a selection of seasonal mini dresses below.

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The Royal Family has announced that its patriarch, Prince Philip, has died at the age of 99. A statement concerning the Duke of Edinburgh’s death was released early this morning, April 9, on the Royal Family’s official website.

“It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,” the announcement, posted on the gates of Buckingham Palace, read. “His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.”

Philip was born in 1921, a direct descendant of both Greek and Danish royalty. He spent his early years in Greece, France, and Germany, before moving to the United Kingdom to join the Royal Navy in 1939 — the same year that he would begin his courtship with then-princess Elizabeth. Their courtship would span several years (and a World War) before they were engaged and subsequently tied the knot in 1947.

Over the next several years, Philip and Elizabeth had four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward. When Elizabeth became queen in 1953, the duke devoted his time to helping his wife adjust to life as a monarch, supporting the Crown from behind the scenes. s At the same time, Philip had many duties to fulfill as the “first gentleman of the land,” his responsibilities taking him all around the world before he officially retired from royal life after completing more than 22,000 solo engagements.

But Philip’s life as a royal wasn’t without controversy; the duke was well-known for speaking brashly in public, often making headlines for the problematic comments shared during many of his engagements. Drama also followed him into 2019, when he famously had to surrender his driver’s license after he crashed his car into another vehicle and injured its passengers.

Philip largely stayed out of the public eye following the incident. Early this year, the he spent a full month in the hospital for treatment of an infection as well as a heart-related surgery. He was released on March 16 and sent home, where he would pass peacefully several weeks later as the longest-serving royal consort in British history.

Philip is survived by his wife the Queen, their children, and their many grandchildren.

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It’s been 20 years since Tara Reid played Melody Valentine, the sweet, spacey drummer from Josie and the Pussycats, but she still talks about her as one would a beloved friend. “Out of all the characters I’ve ever played in my life, she was one of the greatest because every day I woke up and I got to play the happiest girl in the world,” Reid told Refinery29 over the phone.

In 2001, Melody was mistaken for a dumb blonde. Now, Reid knows she was right to bet on her. Josie and the Pussycats, once a critical and commercial failure, has since been reborn as a cult classic. What Roger Ebert once called “dumb as the Spice Girls” is now widely recognized as a landmark cultural phenomenon for an entire generation of young women. Josie McCoy (Rachael Leigh Cook, hot off of She’s All That), Valerie Brown (Rosario Dawson), and Melanie weren’t just punk rock prom queens — they were proof that women could value friendship over love, and excel at our chosen path without having to tear each other down along the way. 

It’s a lesson that has steered Reid as she undergoes her own transformation. Once an underestimated talent who dominated tabloid headlines as the girl next door  from American Pie and Van Wilder, she made an unexpected and unprecedented comeback as an action star in the behemoth Sharknado franchise. At 45, she is reinventing herself once more, this time as a producer. Reid is no longer waiting for the right role to come along. Instead, she’s making that material for herself. 

Her IMDb page is loaded with projects — 21 in various stages of production as of this interview’s publishing — but the one she’s most excited about is Masha’s Mushroom, a thriller directed by White Cross, which Reid is both producing and starring in. She plays the titular Masha, a mom whose birthday party goes very, very wrong when she and all her guests are drugged and forced to battle hallucinations in order to get out alive. 

There’s been a learning curve — ”Normally, I get the part, I got to set, I do my job, and I leave,” she said. “I never realized how much goes into making a movie.” But Reid isn’t a quitter. After all, the industry has forgotten about her before, and she’s always bounced back in new and unexpected ways. “I’m a survivor,” she said. “At the end of the day, when you love what you do, you’ll always come back to it.”

Ahead, Reid looks back at the legacy of Josie and the Pussycats, and what’s next. 

Refinery29: You never auditioned for Josie and the Pussycats. How did you end up getting cast as Melody Valentine?

Tara Reid: “I had a three picture deal with Universal [Pictures]. The first two movies were American Pie and American Pie 2, and the third one was Josie and the Pussycats.”

What did you like about Melody? 

“She’s such a free spirit. She seemed naive, and some people called her dumb, but she was never. If you really watch the movie she had these psychic moments, and predictions. Her heart was so big — if a rose fell down, she’d feel like the rose was dying with her. And I was with girls I loved, and we had so much fun together. It was like a sleepaway camp. We had to learn the instruments, which was hard in the beginning. Rosario didn’t know how to play the bass; I didn’t know how to play the drums; Rachael didn’t know how to play the guitar. They made us take lessons for like three months, and finally we learned.”

Do you still play?

“No, because I live in a high rise, and if I played the drums here I’d probably get kicked out of the building! It’s not the most light sound. But when I’d go out before the pandemic — I can always play the bongos. I know my beat now!”

What’s so special about Josie and the Pussycats is that it’s the rare early aughts movie that starred three young women who weren’t playing a love interest or competing with each other for a guy. 

“I loved that. I don’t think movies have to be about competing for a guy or always having to have a love interest. Let’s be natural! Times have changed. We’re not in the days where you need a man, you have to get married and have kids. Women can do whatever they want. We have just as much power as they do, but it took a while to do that. Josie and the Pussycats is one of the first female empowerment movies of that time — no one knew that at the time, even we didn’t! And now 20 years later, it’s become this cult film. It was awesome to be working with these incredible actresses.” 

If you go back and read the original reviews, it’s pretty shocking to see how dismissive critics were of the movie, given how important it was to young women who saw it. 

“It was before social media. It was so ahead of its time. We were saying Puma is the new Adidas, red is the new black, all these subliminal messages. No one understood what that meant. But today, it makes perfect sense. If it came out now, it’d be a huge hit. And it is in a different way — it did terribly at the box office, but now everyone wants to have an interview with us about it, asking What happened, and What changed? 

“It was girls, with each other, not being mean to each other. We had the best time of our lives, and I think people see that. When people watch that film, they go, Wow, I wish I could have that.” 

Do you have a specific memory from filming that you cherish?

“Something so silly is that we were wearing the smallest costumes, and it was freezing – we were in Vancouver. Everything was custom-made, and they were so small! We were shivering to death every time we had to go outside. And every time we would finish a scene, we would just run to the trailer and they would have three pairs of Ugg boots put together. We’d kick our heels off and put the Uggs on and sigh, Ahhhhhhhh. It was heaven. “

I was obsessed with Melody’s wardrobe. All those early aughts going out tops!

“Melody’s wardrobe was amazing. Leesa Evans, our costume designer, was so cool. She asked, ‘What do you feel Melody should be like?’ We were so involved. I wanted Melody to be a total rockstar, totally cool, but that’s just her. She has no idea she’s even doing it. That was one of the best things about playing Melody. All I had to do to play her is to be happy. I didn’t even have to look for happiness, I had it with my co-stars. It was fantastic.”

Did you get to keep any of the outfits?

“Some of them! We usually had four or five versions of the outfits in case something happened, so I have a piece of all of them.”

You’ve made this pivot to producing, and you now have so many projects in development including Masha’s Mushroom. What prompted this shift in your career?

“Sitting down in my house during [quarantine], I started going back and reaching out to people I’d worked with in the past. White Cross and I have a movie coming out called Mummy Dearest and we really connected, so we decided to make this film called Masha’s Mushroom — I’m Masha obviously. And we started a company together, we became friends and started going at it. Because we were on lockdown, we got in touch with people that usually you can’t get on the phone. But everyone was at home, no one was busy. I accessed so many people and relationships. Right now, Masha’s Mushroom is one film of five. It’s like another American Pie or Sharknado — but this one’s my baby. It’s such a cool movie, when you see it you’re gonna get it. There’s nothing like it.”

“Everyone was looking at my senior yearbook, and yet I was growing into a woman and changing.”

Tara Reid

What did you learn from the experience?

“Normally, I get the part, I go to set, I do my job, and I leave. I never realized how hard it was as a producer and how much goes into that. How many years it takes to make a movie, to get the financing, to get the distribution. Being on both sides of the fence is the most incredible feeling. Even when we go to negotiate with the actors for different things — I know what they want; I know what they need, because it’s what I want and what I need.

“Instead of waiting for a part, which I did for a long time, I thought: You know what, it’s time for me to create my part. The ones that I want to make, the ones that will make people notice me again and put me back in the game. And it was me that created it all. At the end of the day, everyone says, if you want something to happen, who has to do it? You. 

It’s very satisfying. It makes you feel good, and that’s something that’s so important right now.”

Have you found that people in the industry still hold on to the image you had when you started out?

“For a long time I felt like that, but not so much anymore. Imagine you look at your senior picture in your high school yearbook, and then look at yourself now. Do you look the same? That’s how I felt in the industry. Everyone was looking at my senior yearbook, and yet I was growing into a woman and changing. But until you can show them the change, they can’t see it. Like, guys, it’s 20 years later. I’m 45 years old. I can’t even do what I did back then, I’m too tired. It was never a typecasting situation. It was about me turning the page. In Hollywood, it’s hard to turn the page if you don’t show them the next page.”

Speaking of typecasting, I saw you posted on Instagram about loving Bridgerton — would you ever want to take on a period role?

“One of the best shows ever! I’m obsessed with period pieces. That would be a project I would love to do.”

We’re now having this cultural reckoning with the tabloid coverage of young women in the early aughts, especially in the aftermath of Framing Britney Spears. Do you feel like you were unfairly portrayed?

“I hated it, but time is a healer of everything. Hollywood is changing. Women are having their time to come back up — that never happened before, where we have control of ourselves. It’s the women directors who are doing incredible, it’s women actors who are taking over. It’s our time. If anyone is going to get bullied, it would be me, and it’s not me anymore.”

“In Hollywood, it’s hard to turn the page if you don’t show them the next page.”

Tara Reid

What advice would you give to young women coming up in Hollywood today?

“To be patient, to be careful, to still always be inspired. Love your craft, and if you love something else, then love something else and go that way. Because it’s not the easiest job in the world. To be a working actress constantly in Hollywood is almost impossible.”

Was it difficult for you to transition into different kinds of roles as you’ve gotten older?

“When you’re that young, you’re playing high school or college roles. That’s not a leading lady. A leading lady is someone like Julia Roberts. Now, I’m getting to that time. I went through the awkward stage, and now I’m getting to a time when I will become a leading lady. [I am] doing it myself with my rules, my territory, and controlling my image, my press, which I didn’t know how to do before because I was too innocent and too young. I didn’t understand it. With age, you learn a lot. 

“I wouldn’t even take anything back. If everything was so easy like it was when I was on the cover of Rolling Stone, I wouldn’t be here on the phone with you. At the end of the day, I’ve learned so much. I feel like my career is starting really for the first time now.”

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

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To me, fruit has always felt so chic. Perhaps that sounds strange but think about everything a perfectly ripe piece of fruit brings — beautiful bright colors, popping on your kitchen counter; luscious juice, bursting forth with every bite; and the adaptability to elevate a dish or be enjoyed all on its own. Each orb of citrus, berry, or drupe feels like a special gift from the earth, a sweet surprise that can both quench your thirst and fill your stomach. My luxurious outlook on fruit has meant, of course, that I have been taken in by expertly branded designer fruit ever since I began grocery shopping for myself. I was all-in when Pom Wonderful introduced its ready-to-eat pomegranate arils, I have converted many of my nearest and dearest into Sumo citrus devotees, and I’ve even purchased Opal apples simply because I saw others posting photos of them on their Instagram feeds. The marketing and buzz around these high-end fruits always work on me, so when I began hearing about Oishii’s Omakase Berry, obviously I had to try it.

In case you’re unfamiliar, the Omakase Berry originated in Japan, which is known for its rich culture of high-end fruits. Hiroki Koga first brought the seeds here because he wanted to share the magic of these Japanese strawberries and inspire a similar high regard for quality fruit in America. He founded Oishii, a first-of-its-kind indoor vertical strawberry farm in the U.S., and the artisanal varietal was officially introduced in 2018. While the seeds hail from Japan, the vertical farm is based in New Jersey, which might not scream “high-end fruit” given some people’s associations with the state, but those people should stop stigmatizing NJ, and also be aware that the farm is indoors and elements like temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, and wind speed are controlled. Also, I feel it is my duty to take a quick moment to remind everyone that New Jersey is called the Garden State for a reason, so save your eyebrow raises. 

After being introduced to the public, the Omakase Berry quickly caught the eye of Michelin-starred chefs around New York City. Then, more mainstream fruit-lovers like me began hearing the buzz on what has repeatedly been called “the Tesla strawberries” from places like Grub Street. According to that article, Oishii recently raised $50 million in series A funding, which it will use to grow the rare fruits at scale. This will help continue the mainstream spread by expanding availability. I also learned that each Omakase Berry costs, at minimum, $5. This fact both made my jaw drop and my mouth water.

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If you live in the New York City area, you can get Omakase Berries at a few different locations, if they’re not out of stock. Or, you get on a waiting list and have them delivered. Mine arrived at my apartment in a crisp white shopping bag with white fabric handles and Oishii written in red across it. It was the type of sturdy bag one might get after making a purchase at a designer clothing store — well, I’m guessing. It felt chic, which was fitting seeing as I’ve previously stated that fruit itself is, in my opinion, chic. 

Inside the bag sat the carton I’d stared at on Instagram at least once every few days since finding out about the Omakase Berry’s existence. Six stunning strawberries sat nestled in cloudy film, and the display conjured up an appropriately luxurious association: a diamond ring perfectly placed in a jewelry box. What a prize. The top of each berry was a deep red that faded beautifully into an orange-y pink — nature’s ideal ombre. The pores on the berry’s skin flared wide, revealing a multitude of minuscule seeds — a reminder of how this thing I was about to sink my teeth into had come to be. I took my first bite. It tasted like a strawberry.

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I don’t mean to be diminishing. What I’m trying to say isn’t that Omakase Berries tasted like any old strawberry, but rather that it tasted like how strawberries are supposed to taste, but rarely do. They exhibited none of the disgusting drawbacks of an out-of-season berry. They aren’t overly mushy, nor do they don’t contain an off-putting crunchy core. The outside is crisp, the interior flesh is light and airy, and the flavor, my god, is it so incredibly sweet. You can actually smell how sweet they are when they’re sitting on the plate as you wait for them to come to room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes prior to digging in, as is recommended. Anyone with a major sweet tooth who has ever scoffed at the phrase “fruit is nature’s candy,” should give these a chance, and they’ll finally understand why that’s a common refrain.

As much as I enjoyed the Omakase Berries, my initial reaction of “these taste like strawberries” is an important one. They tasted like very good strawberries, something of which I, as a fruit fanatic, was absolutely in awe. But, let’s not forget they cost $5 each and you can’t buy that many at a time. On the other hand, you can easily secure an entire pound of strawberries at a regular grocery store for $5 or less. While those won’t taste quite the same as Omakase Berries, if they’re in season, they will taste like strawberries. And, you can kick back and mindlessly down a whole bowl of them. It is simply a different experience. 

With Oishii’s funding, perhaps the price-point of Omakase Berries’ may one day become a bit more approachable. For now, though, my recommendation depends entirely on what type of person you are. Will it bring you great joy to bite into a single strawberry that you’ve waited 10 minutes to eat at the exact right temperature? If yes, it’s certainly a fun experience that could be worth investing some money in. If you think this entire concept is ludicrous and you can’t believe someone could devote over 800 words to the action of eating a berry, you, my friend, would be better off spending your 5 bucks elsewhere.

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Finally, the world is beginning to open back up again: Slowly but surely, vaccines are being doled out across the country, restaurants and museums are setting up shop, and the weather is getting warmer. So naturally, people are itching to experience the joy of going on vacation once more (Plane tickets! Hotel chocolates! Road trip playlists!).

That said, in case we’ve forgotten in the course of this past travel-less year, vacations aren’t without their worries. Leaving your home unattended can be a plenty stressful process of its own variety. From panicking over whether or not you remembered to unplug your hair straightener, to stressing about your dog at home with the sitter, there are plenty of scenarios that can keep you up at night. And the last thing you want to experience on your getaway is an ever-present anxiety about the place you got away from.

To put your mind at ease, we pulled together a master list of products that will keep your home safe and secure while you're out of town. From state of the art video doorbell systems to self-operating plant water gauges, these are the goods that'll ensure your home remains in good hands (specifically yours thanks to smartphone-accessible apps) in your absence. 

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