Can I take painkillers before or after a COVID-19 vaccine?
It is best to avoid them, unless you usually take them for a medical condition. Although the evidence is limited, some painkillers may interfere with what the vaccine is trying to do: it generates a strong immune response.
Vaccines work by deceiving the body into believing it has a virus and protecting its defenses. This can cause arm pain, fever, headache, muscle aches or other temporary symptoms of inflammation that may be part of that reaction.
“These symptoms mean that the immune system is developing and the vaccine is working,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a recent briefing.
Certain painkillers that target inflammation, including ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, and other brands) may reduce the immune response. A study of mice The Journal of Virology found that these drugs could reduce the production of antibodies – useful substances that block the virus from infecting cells.
If you are already taking one of these medications for a health condition, you should not stop before receiving the vaccine – at least not without asking your doctor, said Jonathan Watanabe, a pharmacist at the University of California, Irvine.
People should not take an analgesic as a precautionary measure before getting a vaccine unless a doctor has told them, he said. The same goes for a shot: “If you don’t have to take it, you shouldn’t,” Watanabe said.
If you need one, acetaminophen (Tylenol) “is safer because it doesn’t alter your immune response,” he added.
The CDC offers other tips, such as holding a cold, damp towel over the area of the shot and exercising that arm. For fever, drink plenty of fluids and dress lightly.
Ask your doctor if redness or tenderness in the arm increases after one day or if side effects do not go away after a few days, says CDC.
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The AP answers the questions about coronavirus in this series. Send them to: [email protected]. Read more here:
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