After vaccination should not reduce fever with paracetamol

Taking paracetamol after vaccination to prevent fever actually reduces the effectiveness of the injection, a new study has found.

Experts from the Czech Republic conducted tests on 450 newborns, vaccinated against staphylococcus, type B, white blood cells, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, polio and rotavirus.

Photo: Thien Chuong. Half of these babies were given paracetamol every 6-8 hours during 24 hours after vaccination, the rest were not.

According to the BBC, the research team found that paracetamol actually helped children reduce fever, but it also reduced the immunological effectiveness of vaccines.

Specifically, 42% of babies in the last paracetamol group had a temperature above 38 degrees C after the first dose of the vaccine, compared with 66% in the group that did not take the antipyretic. The same effect was seen when the baby was injected 2-3 times.

But when the team looked at the vaccine response, they found that the amount of antibodies produced in babies who used paracetamol was lower. This proves that the immunization effect created by vaccines has been limited.

"It is not advisable to give your child a dose of paracetamol before and after vaccination, because first of all it has little benefit, and then preliminary data suggests it could be harmful," said Dr. David Elliman. , from Great Ormond Street Hospital, UK, said.

This is considered the first record of this effect, and according to the team, one reason may be that paracetamol has interfered with the immune response of vaccine cells.