SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – It may be tempting to take Tylenol or Advil before getting a COVID-19 vaccine to avoid the side effects.
However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends it – at least until there is more research.
The science is mixed, but doctors say there is a possibility that preventative pain medications could dampen a person’s immune response to the vaccine, based on research in mice and previous studies in children.
In the absence of more solid evidence, experts encourage people to try other remedies first. They advise people to only take painkillers after the injection if they actually feel side effects such as pain, headache, or fever that they cannot tolerate.
“If you had a choice, I wouldn’t take it sooner,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, UC San Francisco infectious disease expert. “I would take it afterwards.”
Some over-the-counter pain relievers work by blocking chemicals in your body called prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are hormones that cause the feeling of flu-like symptoms, so blocking them can provide relief. But chemicals also play an important role.
They are like a “bugle horn,” said Dr. Chin-Hong, because prostaglandins evoke immune cells.
Taking painkillers before vaccination could muffle the bugle and result in fewer “troops” – antibodies – being summoned to battle, he said.
At least that’s the theory, although he notes that the science is thin.
One study found that mice given ibuprofen produced fewer antibodies to the coronavirus. Ibuprofen is the active ingredient in Advil and Motrin.
A 2016 study of children who took painkillers before vaccination found that they too produced fewer antibodies. But a larger analysis of several studies found that the pain drugs didn’t really make a difference.
The Oxford / AstraZeneca clinical trial tested preventative acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, and found that it did not materially affect the immune response, said Dr. Christian Ramers of Family Health Centers of San Diego.
The Oxford vaccine does not use the mRNA technology found in Pfizer and Moderna images.
“The evidence is inconclusive at this point,” said Dr. Chin-Hong.
He says people should get the injection first and then try simple remedies, such as a warm towel or arm movements, if they feel pain at the injection site. If that doesn’t work, he says it’s okay to get the painkillers.
By the time side effects occur after the injection, the immune system has already been mobilized. “You’re not going to mobilize it any less,” he said.
Some experts have suggested that people consider acetaminophen for vaccine-related side effects instead of ibuprofen, as ibuprofen most directly affects the prostaglandins.
“Personally, it probably doesn’t matter that much,” said Dr. Chin-Hong.
While the CDC recommends that people avoid painkillers before getting the vaccine, doctors say people who take the drugs regularly for chronic conditions such as inflammatory diseases or arthritis should stick to their normal routine.