Medical experts warn that anyone planning to get the COVID-19 vaccination should avoid alcohol around the time of the injection, as alcohol can decrease the body’s immune response to the vaccine.
What are the details?
According to a Monday report by the Daily Mail, emergency medicine specialist Dr. Ronx Ikhaira, who conducted a recent experiment, found that after three glasses of alcoholic drink, lymphocyte cells in researchers’ bodies decreased by as much as 50%.
“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,” the outlet said, noting that it “leads to the damage to immune cells in the blood, known as white blood cells, including lymphocytes, which send out antibodies to attack viruses. “
Professor Sheena Cruickshank, an immunologist at the University of Manchester, said the reduction in lymphocytes “could reduce the effectiveness of the body’s immune response,” noted the Daily Mail.
Due to the decrease in lymphocyte counts, Cruickshank has advised people planning to receive the vaccination to avoid alcohol for the immediate period before and after the injection.
“Your immune system has to work in tip-top order to respond well to the vaccine, so drinking the night before or shortly after won’t help,” said Cruickshank.
The outlet added, “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. ”
What else?
In December, Russian scientists urged citizens looking for a COVID-19 vaccine to avoid alcohol for at least two months.
Russia started its own two-dose coronavirus vaccine in December, Sputnik V – which the country claims is at least 95% effective – in December, giving the injection with a warning to those citizens who like to drink: for two months no alcohol the immunization process.
Citizens were also urged not to use immunosuppressants during treatment.
Anna Popova, head of the national consumer safety watchdog, said those receiving the vaccine should avoid alcohol for at least two weeks before the first injection and then for 42 days after the second injection, which is given 21 days after the first injection . shot.
“It puts a strain on the body,” said Popova. “If we want to stay healthy and have a strong immune response, don’t drink alcohol.”