Anyone who receives the Covid vaccine should AVOID drinking alcohol, experts warn

People who have received the Covid-19 vaccine should avoid drinking alcohol because it can reduce the body’s immune response to the shot, experts have warned.

Alcohol changes the composition of the trillions of microorganisms that live in the gut that play an important role in preventing the invasion of bacteria and viruses.

This leads to the damage of immune cells in the blood, known as white blood cells, including lymphocytes, which send out antibodies to attack viruses.

Emergency medicine specialist Dr. Ronx Ikharia conducted an experiment in which they took blood before and after drinking three glasses of Prosecco.

Dr. Ikharia, the host of the BBC documentary The Truth About … Boosting Your Immune System, which airs Wednesday, found that three glasses was enough to reduce the number of lymphocyte cells in their blood by as much as 50 percent.

Immunologist Professor Sheena Cruickshank, at the University of Manchester, said the reduction in lymphocytes could decrease the effectiveness of the body’s immune response.

That’s why Professor Cruickshank has urged people to avoid alcohol around the time of their Covid-19 vaccination.

Professor Cruickshank said, “Your immune system has to work in tip-top to respond properly to the vaccine, so drinking the night before or shortly after won’t help.”

In adults, lymphocytes make up about 20 to 40 percent of the total white blood cell count and are concentrated in central lymphoid organs and tissues, such as the spleen, tonsils, and lymph nodes, where the first immune response is likely to occur.

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, according to a team of scientists in Wuhan, China.