Can you use painkillers before or after the COVID-19 vaccine?
They are best avoided unless you are using them regularly for a medical problem. While the evidence is limited, some painkillers can interfere with the vaccine’s purpose: to trigger a strong immune system response.
Vaccines work by making the body believe it has a virus so it can defend itself against it. This can cause arm pain, fever, headache, muscle pain, or other temporary inflammatory symptoms that can be part of that response.
“These symptoms mean your immune system is racing and the vaccine is working,” Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said at a recent news conference.
Certain pain relievers that target inflammation, including ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, and other brands), can slow down this immune response. A study in mice in the Journal of Virology found that these drugs can reduce the production of antibodies, the substances that prevent the virus from infecting cells.
If you’re already taking any of these medications for a health problem, don’t stop before getting the vaccine, at least not without consulting your doctor first, said Jonathan Watanabe, a pharmacist at the University of California, Irvine.
Painkillers should not be taken as a preventative measure before a vaccine is administered unless directed to do so by a doctor, he said. The same is true upon receipt: “If you don’t have to take it, don’t take it,” Watanabe said.
If you need a pain reliever, acetaminophen (Tylenol) is “safer because it doesn’t alter the immune response,” he added.
The CDC offers other tips, such as holding a cool, damp cloth to the puncture site and exercising that arm. In case of a fever, they advise to drink a lot and to dress in light clothing.
And call your doctor if the redness or tenderness in the arm increases after a day or if the side effects persist after a few days, they noted.