Can you drink alcohol after the covid vaccine?

Can you drink alcohol with the covid vaccine? More than one person has asked this question before receiving the appropriate dose. No wonder there are those who want to celebrate that they are vaccinated by drinking a glass of wine. There are even those who think about drinking something before the puncture to calm the nerves. Let's see what happens when drinking alcohol after the vaccine and if there are associated risks.

Can you drink alcohol after the covid vaccine?

This question is not a baldi, as there are countries, such as Russia or Guatemala, that are discouraging or banning alcohol consumption both before and after receiving the vaccine. In the case of Russia, the recommendation was two weeks before inoculation to 42 days after receiving the vaccine.

However, there are currently no studies to corroborate the possible adverse effects of drinking alcohol after receiving the covid vaccine. It is not sufficiently studied whether alcohol intake decreases the effectiveness of the vaccine.

Can you drink alcohol with the Pfizer vaccine or with Moderna, Jannsen and AstraZeneca? The truth is that drinking a wine or a beer does not seem to be effective, but we do have to be sensible. Excessive alcohol consumption may cause some people to experience greater symptoms after administration of the vaccine. The most common side effects are fever, headaches, tiredness, muscle pain, and chills.

What is important is to call for prudence and moderation, because there is no demonstrated correlation between alcohol and vaccines, it does not mean that you have to drink unchecked. Excessive alcohol consumption influences the body, acts as a depressant of the central nervous system and can influence our immune response. Therefore, one glass of wine, only one, per day, as recommended by the WHO, does not pose any risk, but it is best to avoid all consumption for at least one week after receiving the vaccine, if we want good immunization.

In fact, the Spanish Society of Immunology has spoken about it. Your recommendation is to avoid drinking alcohol after the vaccine. From this organism they warn that alcohol is not immunohealthy and its consumption should be avoided or reduced.

¿Se puede beber alcohol tras la vacuna de la covid?

What is true is that we received the vaccine intramuscularly and passed directly into the bloodstream. However, alcohol is metabolised by various enzymes in the liver. Therefore, the vaccine and alcohol do not cross their paths, they would never be in direct contact, to explain it graphically, and therefore there would be no risk of adverse reactions by interaction.

Drinking a glass of wine or a beer will probably not interfere with vaccination. But, if we consider the effects of alcohol, coupled with the immune response caused by the vaccine, it can be said that drinking alcohol after the vaccine can lead to an exacerbation of side effects. That is, if after the vaccine you have side effects, such as discomfort or cold, these may be somewhat greater.

The opposite effect can also occur, i.e. alcohol masquerades these adverse effects, which also has its risks.

What does WHO recommend?

The World Health Organization has spoken about alcohol consumption before or after receiving the vaccine. It makes it clear that there are no interactions between the vaccine and other foods and beverages, although on alcohol it offers another set of recommendations.

First, WHO argues that there are no studies linking alcohol consumption to loss of vaccine effectiveness. What is recommended as a precaution is to postpone the consumption of alcoholic beverages at least until the side effects due to the administration of the vaccine have passed.

Who also warns that alcohol consumption can lead to a relaxation of hygienic and sanitary measures, as it reduces the perception of risk. With alcohol consumption, it is easier for us not to put on the mask properly, not to maintain social distance, or to adopt risky behaviors.

The consequences of drinking alcohol after the covid vaccine

The main consequences of moderate consumption are not too many, as we have seen, as, in healthy people, they are mild or priceless.

Furthermore, there does not appear to be a correlation between alcoholic beverages and the efficacy of different covid vaccines.

Chronic consumption

These recommendations change if we are talking about chronic consumption or abusive punctual consumption.

Alcohol interferes with the immune response and has immunosuppressive effects.

Therefore, the general recommendation is that, even if there are no interactions between alcohol and covid vaccines, abuse of alcohol and other toxic substances such as tobacco should be avoided. The use of these substances makes people more susceptible to various infections, not just covid.

We can conclude that alcohol can be drunk with the vaccine without being effective, but the healthiest thing to do is to avoid the consumption of alcoholic beverages at least until the side effects of covid vaccines are removed.