Warning to Russians about Sputnik vaccine: no alcohol for two months

A. Popova, head of consumer health care, told Komsomolskaya Pravda radio station that people should not drink alcohol for at least two weeks before the first of two injections. After vaccination, abstinence, according to the expert, should last another 42 days.

Doctors, soldiers, teachers and social workers are already being vaccinated by Sputnik V, the authorization process of which has started before the final phase of clinical trials. The vaccine was provided to this group of people on an urgent basis. A mass vaccination program against COVID-19 began in Moscow on Saturday. The first and second doses of COVID-19 are given 21 days apart.

“It just came to my knowledge then. I really can’t guarantee that I won’t drink alcohol for 80 days. After all, without consuming alcohol, the body can experience a lot of stress, especially during holidays, which would be much worse than the side effects and possible benefits of the vaccine, ”says Elena Kriven, a Moscow resident.

Mr. Kriven had the New Years period in mind. Most Russians will spend the first ten days of 2021 lounging at home or abroad. Generally, alcohol consumption increases dramatically during this holiday season.

Russians are one of the world’s largest alcohol-consuming nations, although consumption has fallen dramatically since 2003.

A. Popova cautions that alcohol can prevent the body from building the necessary resistance to COVID-19.

“Alcohol is an additional and unnecessary burden on the body. If we want to be healthy and ensure a strong immune response, we must give up alcohol,” says A. Popova.

Alexander Gintsburg, the developer of the Sputnik V vaccine, disagrees with the expert’s advice. A different tip was posted on Twitter on Wednesday on the vaccine account, illustrated with a photo of Leonardo DiCaprio, a Hollywood actor raising a glass of champagne.

“A glass of champagne hasn’t hurt anyone yet, not even their immune system,” Gintsburg said. He said it would be wise to cut back on alcohol and thus facilitate the development of immunity, but stressed that there was no reason to give it up entirely.

It is important not to drink alcohol for three days before and three days after both injections. But this advice applies to all vaccines, not just those made specifically in Russia or Sputnik V.

The topic also sparked heated debate in the social media community.

“First of all, we had to start by giving up alcohol. Unfortunately, this is not possible for most of the people in the country,” Pavel wrote on Facebook. Another commentator, Konstantin Ronini, says: “Even I would not dare to do it, although I drink alcohol infrequently. But alcohol during the New Year is a sacred tradition! “

Others argue that the opposite advice and their own experience have shown that there is no reason to follow Popova’s advice.

“Between the first and second injection, I drank as if tomorrow had not arrived. There are so many antibodies that fly out of my ears,” writes a Moscow resident who does not want to introduce himself.

In Russia, 28,585 new cases of coronavirus infection were registered last day and a record number of 613 previously infected patients died, according to data published by the operational headquarters of the country that coordinates the fight against the epidemic, published on Friday.

The number of confirmed daily deaths from COVID-19 began to rise in November and continues to rise in December. The previous highest death toll was 589 on December 2.

The highest morbidity rates continue to be recorded in Moscow: 7,215 cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed per day in the capital and 77 patients died.

To date, 2,597,711 cases of COVID-19 have been analyzed in Russia, 45,893 people have died and 2,059,840 recovered patients have been discharged from medical facilities, including 26,171 in the last day.

There are currently 491,978 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country.