Fact Check: Can You Drink Alcohol After COVID-19 Vaccination?

Are you planning to resume partying after getting vaccinated? Hold on, there’s a viral message doing the rounds on social media claiming that you shouldn’t drink alcohol for 45 days after getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Let’s find out if it is correct.

This originated in Russia in December, where a health official recommended abstaining from alcohol post-vaccination for 45 days. Facing backlash, public officials there clarified that it was meant to deter heavy drinking that can reduce the immune system’s response to the vaccine.

So are you allowed to drink alcohol after vaccination?

The Quint spoke to Apollo Hospital, New Delhi’s Dr Suranjeet Chatterjee, who said that alcohol is not a contraindication to taking the vaccine and there is no proven medical reason for the claim. Another doctor Swapneil Parikh said that it’s not mandatory to reduce alcohol, but it is a good idea to do so.

The US Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have not mentioned anything about restricting alcohol consumption in any of their COVID-19 vaccine guidelines. Neither has any of the vaccine makers.