Volunteers exercising then rode exercise bikes or rushed down the sidewalk near the lab or outdoor Covid 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 vaccinated with the Covid vaccine received a second vaccination in the meantime, as the second Pfizer vaccination must be given 3 weeks after the first vaccination.)
45 minutes is not enough.
One month later, as expected after vaccination, everyone’s antibody levels to influenza or Covid 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, a member of the Nanovaccine Institute at Iowa State University, and overseeing 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.)
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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, Dr. 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 partially improves the vaccine response by first raising interferon alpha levels.
The result is that a moderate 90-minute exercise session can increase the response of the vaccine “if there is time and a safe place to exercise after vaccination”. effect.
