An expert in the human immune system has warned people to avoid drinking alcohol if they are having one of the coronavirus vaccine jabs.
The latest vaccine - from Oxford AstraZeneca, has been used for the first time on Monday morning.
It follows hundreds of thousands of jabs of the Pfizer vaccine being used in the UK since December.
But an expert has warned that you should avoid drinking alcohol if you are having the jab, reports the Mirror.
Alcohol alters the make-up of the microorganisms in the gut which help to halt bacteria and viruses spreading throughout the body.
This can mean the white blood cells - which release antibodies to attack the likes of Covid-19 and other bugs - become damaged or reduced and unable to fight off an attack.
As part of new BBC documentary, The Truth About... Boosting Your Immune System, which airs on Wednesday, Dr Ronx Ikharia conducted an experiment with Prosecco.
The emergency medicine specialist took blood samples before and after drinking three glasses of the popular Italian sparkling white wine.
They found the quantity was enough to reduce the levels of white lymphocyte cells in the blood by half.
University of Manchester immunologist Professor Sheena Cruickshank has warned anyone receiving the vaccine to abstain from alcohol immediately before and after the jab.
She told the programme: "You need to have your immune system working tip-top to have a good response to the vaccine, so if you're drinking the night before, or shortly afterwards, that's not going to help."
