SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – It may be tempting to take Tylenol or Advil before receiving a COVID-19 vaccine to prevent side effects.
However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends against it – at least until there is more research.
The science is mixed, but doctors say there is a possibility that painkillers can lower a person’s immune response to the vaccine, based on research in mice and previous studies in children.
In the absence of stronger evidence, experts encourage people to try other remedies first. They advise people to use pain medications after shooting only if they feel side effects, such as pain, headache or fever, which they cannot tolerate.
“If you had a choice, I wouldn’t take it any further,” said UC San Francisco infectious disease expert Dr. Peter Chin-Hong. “I’d take it after.”
Some over-the-counter pain medications work by blocking chemicals in the body called prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are hormones that trigger the sensation of flu-like symptoms, so blocking them can provide relief. But chemicals also play an important role.
They’re like a “bugle horn,” Dr. Chin-Hong said, because prostaglandins call for immune cells.
Taking pain medication before vaccination could stifle the budget and lead to fewer “troops” – antibodies – being called up on the battlefield, he said.
At least that’s the theory, though he notes that science is thin.
One study found that mice given ibuprofen produced fewer antibodies to the coronavirus. Ibuprofen is the active ingredient in Advil and Motrin.
A 2016 study of children who took pain medication before vaccination found that they also produced fewer antibodies. But a broader analysis of several studies found that pain medications didn’t really make a difference.
The Oxford / AstraZeneca clinical trial tested preventive acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, and found it did not substantially affect the immune response, said Dr. Christian Ramers of Family Health Centers in San Diego.
The Oxford vaccine does not use the mRNA technology found in the photos from Pfizer and Moderna.
“The evidence is not conclusive at this time,” Dr. Chin-Hong said.
He says people should receive the first fire, then try simple remedies, such as a warm towel or arm movement, if they feel pain at the injection site. If that doesn’t work, he says it’s okay to take pain medication.
By the time the side effects appear after the shooting, the immune system is already mobilized. “You will not make it less mobilized,” he said.
Some experts have suggested that people consider acetaminophen for vaccine-related side effects instead of ibuprofen, because ibuprofen most directly affects prostaglandins.
“Personally, it probably doesn’t really matter,” Dr. Chin-Hong said.
Although the CDC advises people to avoid pain medications before receiving the vaccine, doctors say people who regularly take medications for chronic conditions, such as inflammatory diseases or arthritis, should stick to their regular routine.