Anyone receiving the Covid vaccine should AVOID drinking alcohol because it can reduce the body’s immune response to the vaccine, experts warn
- Alcohol changes the composition of the trillions of microorganisms that live in the intestine
- Emergency medicine specialist Dr. Ronx Ikharia conducted an experiment with alcohol
- Professor Cruickshank asked people to avoid alcohol at the time of the vaccine
People who received the Covid-19 vaccine should avoid alcohol consumption as it can reduce the body’s immune response to the vaccine, experts warned.
Alcohol alters the composition of the trillions of microorganisms that live in the intestine and play an important role in preventing the invasion of bacteria and viruses.
This leads to damage to immune cells in the blood, known as white blood cells, including lymphocytes, that send antibodies to attack viruses.
Alcohol alters the composition of the trillions of microorganisms that live in the intestine and play an important role in preventing the invasion of bacteria and viruses (archive image)
Emergency medicine specialist Dr. Ronx Ikharia conducted an experiment where he collected blood samples before and after drinking three glasses of Prosecco.
Dr Ikharia, host of the BBC documentary, The Truth About … Boosting Your Immune System, which aired on Wednesday, found that three glasses were enough to reduce lymphocyte cell levels in his blood by up to 50 Percent.
Immunologist Professor Sheena Cruickshank of the University of Manchester said the reduction in lymphocytes could decrease the effectiveness of the body’s immune response.
Therefore, Professor Cruickshank asked people to avoid alcohol at the time of the Covid-19 vaccination.
Emergency medicine specialist Dr. Ronx Ikharia (pictured) conducted an experiment in which blood samples were taken before and after drinking three glasses of Prosecco
Professor Cruickshank said: ‘You need to have your immune system working perfectly to have a good response to the vaccine, so if you are drinking the night before or soon after, it will not help.’
In adults, lymphocytes represent about 20 to 40 percent of the total number of leukocytes and are concentrated in central lymphoid organs and tissues, such as spleen, tonsils and lymph nodes, where the initial 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.
Immunologist Professor Sheena Cruickshank, from the University of Manchester, asked people to avoid alcohol at the time of Covid-19 vaccination