February 25, 2021

Is it safe to take Tylenol or ibuprofen before or after the Covid vaccine?

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/it-safe-take-tylenol-or-ibuprofen-or-after-covid-vaccine-n1256896

Is it safe to take Tylenol or ibuprofen before or after the Covid vaccine?
The evidence is limited, but some painkillers might interfere with the body's immune response.
Feb. 5, 2021, 1:13 PM MST
By The Associated Press

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

It's best to avoid them, unless you routinely take them for a medical condition. Although the evidence is limited, some painkillers might interfere with the very thing the vaccine is trying to do: generate a strong immune system response.

Vaccines work by tricking the body into thinking it has a virus and mounting a defense against it. That may cause arm soreness, fever, headache, muscle aches or other temporary symptoms of inflammation that can be part of that reaction.

“These symptoms mean your immune system is revving up and the vaccine is working,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a recent news briefing.

Certain painkillers that target inflammation, including ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin and other brands) might curb the immune response. A study on mice in the Journal of Virology found these drugs might lower production of antibodies — helpful substances that block the virus from infecting cells.
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