Vaccines don’t lower resistance to viruses

DEAR DR. ROACH

>> A person who works in the medical field told me that she is against vaccinations. The reason she gave is that when you put a specific vaccine into your body, your resistance to any other virus or bacteria is severely diminished. Thus, if you get a COVID vaccination, you are then much more susceptible to the flu.

She says that your body naturally builds up resistance to whatever virus or bacteria is going around, and that resistance is reduced by the injection of particular vaccines. Is there any truth to this concept? — Anon.

DEAR READER >> No, the immune system is definitely able to fight off multiple infections or respond to multiple vaccines at once. The vaccine doesn’t reduce the body’s ability to fight off other infections.

The amount of antigens (specific parts of viruses or bacteria) in a vaccine is very small compared to what our bodies are exposed to every day through the environment. Both theoretical and observed results from clinical trials show that vaccines help you prepare for the specific infection the vaccine is protecting you from, but they do not weaken the immune system for other germs.

DEAR DR. ROACH >> I am a 70-year-old male in good physical shape, but I do have minor, annoying muscle aches and pains in both shoulders and my neck. I have done physical therapy for this, but it hasn’t really helped.

When I take two ibuprofen tablets, my aches and pains basically go away for the day, which is a godsend. Is it medically acceptable for me to take two ibuprofen tablets every day for the rest of my life? — T.S.

DEAR READER >> Ibuprofen and similar drugs (collectively known as NSAIDs) can be very helpful for many conditions. When used at high doses every day, they do have risks of side effects. But at the very low dose of 400 mg a day (the over-the-counter ibuprofen is 200 mg per tablet or capsule), the risks are small. Unless you have a medical condition that you haven’t told me about, then the benefit (“godsend” is a pretty strong word) seems to greatly outweigh the small risks from such a modest dose of ibuprofen.