Coronavirus Today: The school-reopening battle

Coronavirus Today: The school-reopening battle

So don’t take a painkiller as a preventive measure before getting a vaccine unless a doctor has told you to, said Jonathan Watanabe, [professor of clinical pharmacy], at UC Irvine. The same goes for after a shot. “If you don’t need to take it, you shouldn’t,” Watanabe said. If you do need one, acetaminophen (AKA Tylenol) “is safer because it doesn’t alter your immune response,” he added. A caveat: If you’re already taking one of those inflammation-fighting medications for a health condition, don’t stop doing so before you get the COVID-19 vaccine — at least not without asking your doctor, Watanabe said.