THURSDAY, February 18, 2021 (HealthDay News) – You finally managed to make an appointment to be vaccinated against the new coronavirus and are a little nervous about the side effects, so taking a painkiller before taking the injection seems like a smart idea .
Not so fast, says the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Instead, the agency is telling people not to take painkillers like Motrin, Advil or Tylenol before receiving their COVID-19 vaccines.
Why?
It is possible that taking a painkiller before receiving the vaccine will result in a “reduction in antibody response,” explained Dr. Gregory Poland, director of the Vaccine Research Group at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Although the chances of a diminished immune response are not really known, Poland said it is better to experience side effects than to risk making the vaccine less effective.
“After receiving the vaccine, if someone develops symptoms that they think they want to treat, that’s fine, but ideally not before,” he said. “Well, that is a recommendation from the CDC, be very careful.”
However, there are exceptions: people who generally take painkillers, such as migraine sufferers, must take the drugs, he added.
“Go ahead and take it instead of ending a complete migraine and ending up in the ER having to do a lot more intensive or expensive therapy,” said Poland.
He also noted that the side effects of the vaccine may differ between the two doses, with the effects after the second dose generally being worse.
“I’ll tell you after my first dose, I had a little bit of a sore arm. After the second dose, I had a moderately strong sore arm and I had four hours of tremors, chills with a 101 degree fever over with fatigue, headache and ringing in the ears. I took a dose of Tylenol, went to bed, woke up the next morning and was 80% to 90% better and, in the middle of the day, I was back to normal, “said Poland.
These side effects are caused when the body’s immune system speeds up to fight the invader, which is exactly what is needed to produce the antibodies that neutralize the virus.