Taking Tylenol or Advil before getting a coronavirus vaccine blocks the production of cold antibodies and makes the vaccine less effective, according to infectious disease specialists.
- Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccines are known to have side effects such as pain at the injection site, headaches, fever
- These are signs that the body is responding to the vaccine and that the immune system is producing antibodies
- Infectious Disease Specialists warn people not to take ibuprofen like Advil or acetaminophen like Tylenol as a prophylactic
- Analgesics can suppress parts of the immune system and inhibit the production of antibodies, thus reducing the effectiveness of the vaccine.
Doctors recommend that people do not take over-the-counter pain medications before receiving a coronavirus vaccine.
Both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech traits are known to cause side effects such as injection site pain, headaches, fever, chills, and fatigue.
Therefore, some people may try to prevent them by taking painkillers such as ibuprofen (Motrin and Advil) or acetaminophen (Tylenol) in advance.
Now, infectious disease specialists tell ABC News that drugs can dampen the immune system and prevent the production of antibodies and thus decrease the effectiveness of the vaccine.
Infectious disease specialists warn people not to take ibuprofen like Advil (left) or acetaminophen like Tylenol (right) as a prophylactic against the side effects of the coronavirus vaccine, such as pain at the injection site, headaches and fever.
Analgesics can suppress parts of the immune system and inhibit the production of antibodies, thus reducing the effectiveness of the vaccine.
“We do not recommend premedication with ibuprofen or Tylenol prior to COVID-19 vaccines due to the lack of data on how it affects vaccine-induced antibody responses,” said Dr. Simone Wildes, an infectious disease specialist in the South. Shore Medical Center of Massachusetts, ABC News.
Side effects due to vaccines are not uncommon and can even occur from the seasonal flu vaccine.
When people experience mild to moderate reactions after a shot, it simply means that our bodies respond to it.
Not only do vaccines induce inflammation, because they have inserted a needle into us, but they also trigger the body to make a protein.
In turn, the immune system generates antibodies capable of destroying this protein, such as the coronavirus.
But taking painkillers can suppress parts of the immune system.
One theory is that many over-the-counter drugs that reduce fever block the enzyme cyclooxygenase-2 (cox-2) and inhibit antibody production.
This means that drugs prevent the body from receiving all the effects of vaccination.
“You would always want an optimal response to the vaccine,” Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist and professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told ABC News.
‘We recommend that unless people have a substantial reaction to the first dose they have [pain killers]Schaffner said, “but otherwise, they feel pretty good.”
Previous research seems to support these claims.
A 2009 study examined two groups of infants, one who received acetaminophen before receiving childhood immunizations and another who did not take it.
One month later, children in the treatment group had lower antibody concentrations than those in the control group.
However, experts say that analgesics can be taken after receiving the shot, if they experience side effects.
“If fever, chills, headaches occur after the injection,” you can use over-the-counter pain medications to manage the symptoms, Wildes told ABC News.