Do you want to celebrate that you have already been vaccinated against COVID-19? Well, the celebration with intoxicating drinks will have to wait at least three weeks, otherwise you could reduce the effectiveness of your vaccine.
According to Dr. Rosa María Wong, from the Infectious Diseases Research Laboratory of the UNAM Faculty of Medicine, alcohol can enhance the side effects of the vaccine, such as dizziness and headaches, so the intake of alcoholic drinks.
Through the portal unamglobal.com, Wong explained that “it is advisable not to drink alcohol for the next 72 hours”, at least to avoid side effects; However, the scientific community warns that this period can be up to 21 days or three weeks.
According to the Spanish Immunology Society (SEI) in a document prepared by doctors Alfredo Corell and Africa González, the combination of vaccines and alcohol is not “entirely positive.”
“The consumption of distilled alcohol and drugs has an immunosuppressive effect, with mechanisms very similar to those that occur in situations of depression or stress,” they indicated for the BBC.
In the same vein, the International Society of Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Professionals (ISSUP) detailed that the chronic use of alcoholic substances can reduce the number of peripheral T lymphocytes and cause a loss of peripheral B lymphocytes, both related to the body’s defense .
These are two of the main pieces of the immune system when it comes to recognizing and neutralizing infectious organisms like viruses and bacteria.
Therefore, if a person drinks alcohol very frequently, they may be more likely to contract the SARS-CoV-2 virus, since it would reduce the effect of the vaccine.
To prove it, Dr Ronx Ikharia, in a BBC documentary, did an experiment in which a blood sample was taken before and after three glasses of wine. After the analysis, the researcher found that the amount consumed was enough to reduce half the levels of white lymphocytes in the blood, responsible for defending the human body from external pathogens.
Similarly, medical authorities recommend a period of three weeks without consuming alcohol or drugs, until the immune system has produced enough antibodies to protect the body from SARS-CoV-2.
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