Latest update July 20th, 2026 1:28 AM
Health Minister advises against use of alcohol 24hrs. before and after COVID-19 jab
Kaieteur News – Out of an abundance of caution, the Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, is advising against the use of alcohol 24 hours before one is to take a COVID-19 vaccine and 24 hours after. Dr. Anthony made his remarks while delivering the COVID-19 update on Tuesday during which he sought to address concerns emerging about COVID-19 vaccines and the use of alcohol.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony.
As it relates to the Russian Sputnik V Vaccine, there are reports that health officials have been urging persons to refrain from the use of alcohol at least two weeks before being administered their first shot and then for another 42 days.
In light of that Dr. Anthony said, “There is no scientific rational why people should abstain for that prolonged period, however, like with all vaccines, we would prefer people not to drink before they come for a vaccine and immediately after to abstain.” He qualified his disclosure by pointing out that if health officials are going to observe persons for side effects from the vaccine, then they would need those persons to be sober.
“So we haven’t seen in any of the scientific literature that the vaccine reacts in any adverse way with alcohol, but out of an abundance of precaution, I would urge that people who are coming for the vaccine, at least over the 24 hours before and the 24 hours after, remain sober so that we can monitor and make sure there is no adverse reaction,” the Health Minister reiterated.
He would have also cautioned against the use of any medication before receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
When the government introduced its national COVID-19 immunisation campaign in February, the filaria campaign was also on-going and Minister Anthony had warned against taking filaria pills and COVID-19 vaccines on the same day. This, he had said, was an extra precautionary measure to mitigate potential side effects.
He had stated too, that side effects would be difficult to track and monitor if two medical interventions are taken at the same time. However, he had noted that there was no evidence suggesting that medical issues may arise if the two are taken simultaneously.
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