Pain relief medications, like Tylenol and Advil, are “perfectly fine” – but only after the COVID-19 vaccine, experts say

Avoid painkillers just before taking the COVID-19 vaccine, but they are “perfectly fine” to take later, experts say.

Headache, fever, body aches and chills.

While these side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine are completely normal – and a good sign that your immune system is working – they can be unpleasant.

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To minimize discomfort, some Americans may use painkillers, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Others fear that these drugs may impair the vaccine’s effectiveness.

Studies on the subject are sparse and inconsistent, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization do not recommend the preventive use of painkillers, although they do allow symptoms to develop later.

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Woman checking thermometer with fever

In a study published in the Journal of Virology, researchers found that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, can reduce antibody production and impact other aspects of the immune response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

The researchers said the study’s results raised the possibility that painkillers like ibuprofen could alter the immune response to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Dr. Colleen Kelley, an associate professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, who was not affiliated with the study, speculates that this could be caused by a reduction in inflammation triggered by the immune system.

“The immune system generates a response through controlled inflammation. (Painkillers) can reduce the production of inflammatory mediators, ”she said. “So this is the potential mechanism for a reduced immune response to vaccination if you take these drugs.”

But Dr. Marian Michaels, a member of the COVID-19 vaccine advisory committee at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, says studies have shown that the immune system responds differently to the COVID-19 vaccine than to natural infection.

“We believe that the (immune) response to the vaccine is actually a better response than the wild-type virus with COVID-19,” said Michaels, who is also a pediatric infectious disease physician at the UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. “That’s why, even for those who have had the infection in the past … we recommend that people still get the vaccine.”

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A 2016 study by Duke University looked at the effectiveness of various vaccines among children and found that those who took painkillers before receiving their regularly scheduled vaccines had less antibodies than those who did not.

However, the few studies that exist on painkillers and vaccines are not robust enough to draw conclusions, experts say, as children in the 2016 study who took painkillers and showed less antibodies still had a sufficient immune response to provide protection.

There is no data to show a reduced immune response if the drugs are taken after the vaccine to treat side effects, Kelley added.

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“It is perfectly normal to take NSAIDs or Tylenol if you don’t feel well after the vaccination,” said Kelley. “The symptoms you are experiencing indicate that your immune system is functioning normally and that the immune response is underway.”

Michaels notes that study participants were not banned from taking painkillers in the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 trials and efficacy rates were still above 95%.

“Although I do not have the exact number of people in the survey … I am sure that several of them took acetaminophen or ibuprofen because 70% had mild effects (side effects of the vaccine),” she said. “And yet, there was still an immune response.”

Follow Adrianna Rodriguez on Twitter: @AdriannaUSAT.

USA TODAY health and safety coverage is made possible in part by a grant from the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Health. The Masimo Foundation does not provide editorial contributions.

This article was originally published in USA TODAY: Pain relief medications like Tylenol and Advil are ‘perfectly adequate’ – but only after the COVID-19 vaccine, experts say