Anyone receiving the Covid vaccine should AVOID drinking alcohol, as it can reduce the body’s immune response to jab, experts warn
- Alcohol changes the composition of the trillions of microorganisms that live in the gut
- The specialist in emergency medicine, Dr. Ronx Ikharia, performed an experiment with alcohol
- Professor Cruickshank urged people to avoid alcohol during the jab
People who have received the Covid-19 vaccine should avoid drinking alcohol, as it can reduce the body’s immune response to jab, experts have warned.
Alcohol alters the composition of trillions of microorganisms living in the gut, which play an important role in preventing the invasion of bacteria and viruses.
This leads to damage immune cells in the blood, known as white blood cells, including lymphocytes, which send antibodies to attack viruses.
Alcohol changes the composition of trillions of microorganisms living in the gut, which play an important role in preventing the invasion of bacteria and viruses (file image)
Dr. Ronx Ikharia, an emergency medicine specialist, performed an experiment in which they took blood samples before and after drinking three glasses of Prosecco.
Dr Ikharia, presenter of the BBC documentary The Truth About … Boosting Your Immune System, which aired on Wednesday, found that three glasses were enough to reduce lymphocyte cell levels in their blood by up to 50%.
Immunology professor Sheena Cruickshank, of the University of Manchester, said that reducing lymphocytes could reduce the body’s immune response.
Therefore, Professor Cruickshank urged people to avoid alcohol during vaccination against Covid-19.
Dr. Ronx Ikharia, an emergency medicine specialist, performed an experiment in which they took blood samples before and after drinking three glasses of Prosecco.
Professor Cruickshank said: “You need to have a perfectly functioning immune system to have a good response to the vaccine, so if you drink the night before or shortly after, this won’t help.”
In adults, lymphocytes account for about 20 to 40% of the total number of white blood cells and are concentrated in central lymphoid organs and tissues, such as the spleen, tonsils, and lymph nodes, where the initial immune response may occur.
Lymphocytes are of “fundamental importance” in the immune system because they determine the immune response to infectious microorganisms and other foreign substances, such as the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to a team of scientists in Wuhan, China.
Immunologist Sheena Cruickshank of the University of Manchester urges people to avoid alcohol during vaccination against Covid-19