No hard and fast rules, say doctors
MUMBAI: An advisory from Russia stating consumption of alcohol should be avoided for 45 days after taking the Covid-19 vaccine has stumped doctors, who have been chosen as the first group in India to be vaccinated against the Covid-causing coronavirus.
Dr Subhash Salunkhe, who is a technical advisor to the state government and a member of the ICMR task force on Covid, said there is no mention of alcohol in the printed material available along with the two vaccines approved in India. “I checked medical literature for any connection between consumption of alcohol and Covid-19 vaccine and only found a casual mention of alcohol’s ability to depress one’s immunity,” he said. There is no scientific study about the 45-day alcohol abstinence and vaccine’s effectiveness. “It seems like a common sense statement: Just as you shouldn’t drink and drive, so also you shouldn’t drink on the day you get vaccinated,” added Dr Salunkhe.