covid 19: Exercise may amplify the benefits of COVID-19 or influenza vaccination

Long, active walks, jogging, or biking after the next COVID-19 or flu vaccine may amplify the benefits of shots, according to new studies of exercise and immunization. This study of 70 and about 80 mice examined post-jab antibody responses in both rounds of the influenza vaccine or the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

It turns out that those who exercised for 90 minutes immediately after the shot produced much more after that. antibody Than those who didn’t. Additional immune enhancements that should help reduce the risk of developing serious illnesses with these illnesses did not appear to cause increased side effects.

The results of the study are preliminary and need to be tested by more people. However, the findings show that fit and physical activity may stimulate our body to respond with additional robustness to influenza and the COVID-19 vaccine. Is increasing.

Exercise alters “almost all” immune cells
The relationship between exercise and immunity is generally well established. Most studies have shown that being physically active helps protect us from catching colds and other mild upper respiratory tract infections. Getting in shape may also reduce the severity of the infection if you get sick. For example, in last year’s study of about 50,000 Californians who developed COVID-19, those who exercised regularly before diagnosis were about half as likely to be hospitalized as those who did little. Did.

Extreme exercise, on the other hand, can undermine our immunity. Marathon runners often report illness after the race, and completely malaise laboratory mice are more likely to get the flu than sedentary animals.

But overall, exercise seems to provide a strong boost to our immune system. “The behavior of almost every immune cell population in the bloodstream changes in some way during and after exercise,” concludes a recent review of previous studies on this topic.

Therefore, it is not surprising that exercise can also affect vaccine response. In some past studies, arm exercise prior to influenza vaccination increased levels of antibodies and specialized immune cells compared to sitting quietly. Also, in a 2020 study, competitive elite athletes during the training season produced more antibodies and immune cells after influenza vaccination than in healthy adolescent controls.


Is there a correct “dose” for exercise?

However, some of these early studies aimed at examining the best timing and amount of exercise to amplify the vaccine effect, examining COVID-19 shots that were only available from late 2020. There wasn’t. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, a group of immunobiologists and exercise scientists at Iowa State University Ames, have asked people vaccinated against influenza and COVID-19 to work as well.

They started by inviting dozens of healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 87 who said they would occasionally exercise and come to the lab for flu shots. Scientists also coordinated with the local COVID-19 vaccination site to recruit 28 men and women who took the first COVID-19 shot. Prior to vaccination, they collected blood from all volunteers to check antibody levels.

Then I randomly assigned everyone to sit quietly or take a shot and then exercise for 90 minutes. Previous studies have suggested that exercising after vaccination increases the immune response in advance over the same level of activity. And because unpublished studies from their lab have suggested that momentum significantly increases the production of a substance in the blood called interferon alpha that can trigger the production of immune cells, so they are common. I settled down to 90 minutes as a good exercise goal.

Volunteers exercising then rode exercise bikes or quickly walked off the sidewalk near the laboratory or COVID-19 vaccination site for 90 minutes after vaccination. They exercised at a rather challenging pace, aiming to keep their heart rate at about 120-140 beats per minute. However, researchers also asked some of the flu-vaccinated volunteers to ride for only 45 minutes to see if shorter training was equally effective in boosting immunity. ..

Because antibody levels tend to increase weeks after vaccination, researchers took blood from all again 2 and 4 weeks after the shot. (People who received the COVID-19 vaccine received a second dose in the meantime, as the second Pfizer dose must be given 3 weeks after the first dose.)

45 minutes is not enough
One month later, after vaccination, as expected, everyone’s antibody levels to influenza or COVID-19 shots increased significantly. However, they were highest in men and women who exercised for the next 90 minutes. This antibody bonus wasn’t great. “But it was statistically significant,” said Marian Kouto, a professor of kinesiology and a member of the Nanovaccine Institute in Iowa, who oversaw the new study.

People who exercised also did not report any additional side effects after their shots. (They also did not experience fewer side effects.)

Interestingly, the 45 minutes of exercise in this study was not enough to increase antibodies. Short training probably did not increase the levels of substances needed to amplify immunity, including interferon alpha, Kouto said.

The researchers also repeated the flu vaccine experiment on mice that were then jogging or still. Researchers checked blood for interferon alpha levels and found that they were higher with exercise. However, if scientists chemically blocked the production of the substance, the animals would benefit from a little extra antibody from exercise. This suggests that exercise initially partially improves the vaccine response by increasing interferon alpha levels.

The result is that “if you have the time and safe place to exercise after vaccination”, a moderate 90 minute exercise session may increase the vaccine response without adding side effects. ..


Is 60 minutes enough?

However, this study was small and did not measure antibody levels for more than a month after vaccination. He also did not track whether people were eventually infected with the flu or COVID-19, or looked at the levels of various other cells that could affect the immune response, Kohut said. Did.

It’s a lot of exercise for an hour and a half. Carmine Pariante, a professor at King’s College London, editor of the journal in which the study was published, said: “The combination of three different vaccines in human and animal models is a unique strength of this study,” said Pariante, reassuring that there was an increase in antibody response regardless of the physical fitness level of the vaccinated. I did.

Researchers want to study whether 60 minutes or other periods or intensity of exercise after vaccination helps, and vice versa, and how long the antibody response lasts. They have already enrolled people for a long-term study of the effects of exercise on COVID-19 booster shots.

But for now, if you plan to get the flu or COVID-19, you can block another 90 minutes and actively explore nearby neighborhoods on foot or by bike. It may provide additional immune enhancement from your vaccine.