Can I take pain relievers before or after a COVID-19 vaccine?

Can I take pain relievers before or after a COVID-19 vaccine?

They are best avoided, unless you are taking them regularly for a health problem. Although the evidence is limited, some pain relievers can interfere with what the vaccine tries to do: generate a strong immune system response.

Vaccines work by making the body think it has a virus and building up a defense against it. This can cause arm pain, fever, headache, muscle pain, or other temporary symptoms of inflammation that may be part of this reaction.

“These symptoms mean that your immune system is booming and the vaccine is working,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a recent press briefing.

Certain pain relievers that target inflammation, including ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, and other brands), may suppress the immune response. A study on mice in the Journal of Virology, these drugs could reduce the production of antibodies – helpful substances that prevent the virus from infecting cells.

If you’re already taking any of these drugs for a health problem, you shouldn’t stop until you receive the vaccine – at least not without asking your doctor, said Jonathan Watanabe, a pharmacist at the University of California at Irvine.

People shouldn’t take a pain reliever as a preventative measure before getting vaccinated unless a doctor has told them to do so, he said. The same is true after a shot: “If you don’t need to take it, you shouldn’t,” Watanabe said.

If you need it, acetaminophen (Tylenol) “is safer because it doesn’t alter your immune response,” he added.

The CDC offers other tips, like holding a cool, damp washcloth over the shot area and exercising that arm. For fever, drink plenty of fluids and dress lightly.

Call your doctor if the redness or tenderness in the arm increases after a day or if the side effects don’t go away after a few days, the CDC says.

___

The AP answers your questions about the coronavirus in this series. Submit them to: [email protected]. Learn more here:

Can the coronavirus travel more than 6 feet in the air?

How long could I be contagious before a positive viral test?

How do you politely ask someone to wear a mask?