Considerations for Taking Medication before Getting Vaccinated

For most people, it is not recommended to avoid, discontinue, or delay medications for underlying medical conditions around the time of COVID-19 vaccination. However, your healthcare provider should talk to you about what is currently known and not known about the effectiveness of getting a COVID-19 vaccine when taking medications that suppress the immune system.

It is not recommended you take over-the-counter medicine – such as ibuprofen, aspirin, or acetaminophen – before vaccination for the purpose of trying to prevent vaccine-related side effects. It is not known how these medications might affect how well the vaccine works. However, if you take these medications regularly for other reasons, you should keep taking them before you get vaccinated. It is also not recommended to take antihistamines before getting a COVID-19 vaccine to try to prevent allergic reactions.

If you have questions about medications that you are taking, talk to your doctor or your vaccination provider.

If you have had a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) or an immediate allergic reaction to any ingredient in the vaccine you are scheduled to receive, you should not get that vaccine. If you have been instructed not to get one type of COVID-19 vaccine, you may still be able to get another type. Learn more information for people with allergies.

You should get your second shot as close to the recommended 3-week or 4-week interval as possible. However, your second shot may be given up to 6 weeks (42 days) after the first dose, if necessary.

If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing many things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic.

Updated CDC guidance now recommends

• To maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others, wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission.
• Wearing a mask is most important if you have a weakened immune system or if, because of your age or an underlying medical condition, you are at increased risk for severe disease, or if someone in your household has a weakened immune system, is at increased risk for severe disease, or is unvaccinated. If this applies to you or your household, you might choose to wear a mask regardless of the level of transmission in your area.
• You should continue to wear a mask where required by laws, rules, regulations, or local guidance.