Medical experts warn that anyone intending to receive COVID-19 vaccination should avoid drinking alcohol during shooting, as alcohol can reduce the body’s immune response to the vaccine.
What are the details?
According to a report in the Daily Mail on Monday, emergency medicine specialist Dr. Ronx Ikhaira, who conducted a recent experiment, found that after three glasses of an alcoholic beverage, the lymphocyte cells in the researchers’ bodies had dropped by up to 50%.
“Alcohol changes the structure of trillions of microorganisms living in the gut, which play an important role in preventing the invasion of bacteria and viruses,” the report said, noting that “it leads to damage to immune cells in the blood, known as white blood cells, including lymphocytes.” , which send antibodies to attack viruses. “
Professor Sheena Cruickshank, an immunologist at the University of Manchester, said that reducing lymphocytes “could reduce the effectiveness of the body’s immune response,” the Daily Mail said.
Due to the decrease in lymphocytes, Cruickshank advised people who intend to receive immunization to avoid alcohol in the time immediately before – and after – shooting.
“You have to have a functioning immune system to have a good response to the vaccine, so if you drink the night before or shortly after, that won’t help,” Cruickshank said.
According to a team of scientists in Wuhan, China, 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. ”
What else?
In December, Russian scientists urged citizens seeking a COVID-19 vaccine to avoid alcohol for at least two months.
Russia began releasing its own two-dose coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V – which the country said was at least 95% effective – in December and gave the injection a warning to citizens who like to drink: No alcohol for two months during the immunization process.
Citizens were also urged not to take immunosuppressive drugs during treatment.
Anna Popova, head of the national consumer safety watchdog, said vaccine recipients should avoid alcohol at least two weeks before the first shot and then for another 42 days after the second shot, which is given at 21 days after the first blow.
“It’s a pressure on the body,” Popova said. “If we want to stay healthy and have a strong immune response, don’t drink alcohol.”