Covid vaccines have some side effects, which is a sign that your immune system is working and increases protection against the virus. Common side effects of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccines include things like pain and swelling in the arm where the vaccine is given and flu-like symptoms such as fatigue, headache, fever and chills.
As you prepare for your long-awaited vaccine appointment (to check your vaccine eligibility status, you can use the NBC News plan to plan your vaccination tool), you may be wondering if you can do something to mitigate these normal but uncomfortable side effects. . This is what you need to know.
Can Tylenol or Ibuprofen be taken after receiving the vaccine?
The Centers for Disease Control says you can take over-the-counter pain medications, such as ibuprofen (like Advil), aspirin, antihistamines, or acetaminophen (like Tylenol), if you have side effects after getting vaccinated against Covid. As with any medication, the CDC recommends talking to your doctor first.
Do you need to take over-the-counter medications before getting the vaccine?
The CDC does not recommend taking over-the-counter pain medications to try to decrease symptoms, because it is unclear how it may affect the effectiveness of the vaccine.
The concern is that pre-treatment with pain medications that reduce fever and inflammation (such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen) could decrease your immune system’s response to the vaccine.
This is because your immune system responds to vaccines through a process called “controlled inflammation,” Dr. Colleen Kelley, an associate professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, told USA Today in January.
Covid messenger RNA vaccines work by giving cells genetic material that tells them how to make a non-infectious piece of the virus. The immune system then creates antibodies against it, which is a controlled inflammation, and can remember how to elicit an immune response if exposed to the virus in the future.
But pain-reducing painkillers “reduce the production of inflammatory mediators,” Kelley said. Therefore, it is important to wait until you have received the vaccine (and have begun to create an inflammatory response) to take a pain medication.
Research on children has shown that those who take acetaminophen before receiving vaccines have a lower immune response than those who did not. And a recent study at Yale found that giving mice non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (also known as “NSAIDs”) before exposure to SARS-CoV-2 caused fewer protective antibodies to the virus.
The exception is for people who normally take this type of over-the-counter pain medication as part of their routine to control another disease. These individuals should continue to be normal, but check with your doctor for more information before getting the vaccine, as there may be consequences for skipping the medication.
Tips for treating vaccine side effects
Beyond taking medication, there are some home remedies that can help you deal with side effects. According to the CDC, applying a cool, damp cloth to the spot on the arm where the shot was made can help ease some of the pain. Drinking plenty of fluids is advisable if you have a fever and wearing light clothing can also be kept comfortable.
After the vaccination, you are supposed to wait 15 minutes before leaving the place where you were vaccinated (or 30 minutes if you have a history of anaphylaxis) to see if there are any serious reactions or side effects.
According to the CDC, the side effects of the Covid vaccine should go away in a few days. That said, in some cases, side effects can interfere with your ability to develop your daily life, so you may want to plan accordingly.
It’s also good to know: more people experience side effects from the second of the two doses. This is because the first dose elicits an immune response and the second dose “potency”.
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