Drinking alcohol does not reduce the chance of acquiring SARS-CoV-2 or developing severe illness from COVID-19. If you are a healthcare provider, learn how to help patients or clients who need help with an alcohol problem during the COVID-19 pandemic. No research suggests that you’ll develop long COVID if you drink alcohol while you have a COVID-19 infection. However, these medications can cause unpleasant side effects, like headaches, which may be worsened with alcohol use. If you’re ready to enter treatment and stop drinking, you’ll likely have to wait until your COVID-19 infection is no longer transmissible before you enter a detox program. Alcohol can also weaken your immune system and contribute to risk-taking behavior (like not wearing a mask) that could increase your chances of contracting the virus.

Myth 2: Consuming alcohol stimulates the immune system

We also compared current alcohol consumption and the prevalence of binge drinking and extreme binge drinking in the past 30 days between participants who reported being very impacted by COVID-19 versus those who did not (Aim 2). Lastly, we examined whether U.S. adults reported that their alcohol intake had changed in the past 30 days compared to their drinking behaviors prior to COVID-19, and the reasons given for any perceived changes in their consumption (Aim 3). However, although almost two-thirds of the sample reported that their alcohol consumption had increased during COVID-19, it should be noted that 12.8% of the participants reported that their alcohol consumption had decreased.

In fact, it is possible that alcohol consumption may increase the chance of developing severe illness as a result of COVID-19. It was really no surprise that during the first year of the pandemic, alcohol sales jumped by nearly 3%, the largest increase in more than 50 years. Multiple small studies suggest that during the pandemic, about 25% of people drank more than usual, often what drugs was eminem addicted to to cope with stress.

COVID-19 Research Impact

While one preprint study suggests that alcohol intolerance is a common symptom of long COVID, there’s very little research on the topic. Consult a healthcare professional about whether you can drink alcohol while using these medications. The survey findings come from APPC’s nationally representative Annenberg Science and Public Health (ASAPH) Knowledge survey, which was conducted with a panel of more than 1,700 U.S. adults in September 2024.

For clinicians: helping patients access treatment during the pandemic

Physical health is adversely impacted by heavy drinking, including risks for hypertension, cancer, stroke, liver disease, and alcohol-impaired accidents. Because women absorb and metabolize alcohol differently than men, they are more susceptible to the negative physical consequences of alcohol, including liver disease, heart disease, and cognitive impairment. It is estimated that one-third of breast cancer cases could be prevented if women did not drink alcohol, were physically active, and maintained healthy weight. Many people struggled with their mental health during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, behaviors like alcohol consumption increased during that time. However, researchers found that drinking returned to pre-pandemic levels by June 2021.

It can also cause inflammation to occur, further weakening the immune system. NIH-funded study identifies managing maternal stress as a possible way to lessen impacts of prenatal infection on infant socioemotional and cognitive development. The effects of the pandemic on alcohol-related problems have not been the same for everyone, though.

What are some healthier options for coping with stressful events and avoiding risky drinking behaviors?

One factor in their decreased consumption might be that a larger percentage of these individuals were males without children. Future research should examine the impact of having children currently in the home on parental alcohol consumption as this may help direct public health messaging. These participants who reported decreased alcohol consumption were also more likely to report being stressed by having to spend more time working which could have left less time for alcohol consumption. Lastly, it may be that COVID-19 restrictions or some other issue is related to the decrease in consumption. Of the full sample, 12.8% reported that their drinking had decreased and 27.0% reported that there had been no change in their drinking behavior pre- and post-COVID-19.

1. The survey screener question asking if participants were 21 years of age or older was completed by 998 participants.
2. Almost a third (31.8%) reported engaging in binge drinking and 3.7% reported engaging in extreme binge drinking.
3. Women have twice the risk of men for depression and anxiety, and heavy alcohol use exacerbates depression, anxiety, and insomnia — symptoms experienced by many people during this pandemic.
4. Because of substantial and unexpected social and economic changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many people turned to alcohol and other drugs to cope with those stressors.

The CDC reports that more than half of U.S. adults drink alcohol, 17% binge drink, and 6% drink heavily. The conclusion that alcohol consumption carries significant health risks is backed by systematic reviews as well as meta-analyses focused on the association between alcohol consumption and the risk of death from any cause. Unfortunately, the U.S. healthcare system is already overwhelmed due to COVID-19 32. Yet a review of emergency department (ED) visits in a large Midwest U.S. healthcare system found that the number of alcohol-related complaints, as a percentage of total behavioral health ED visits, increased from 28.2% to 33.5% 33. The increase in alcohol consumption observed in this study is concerning as the already strained U.S. healthcare system may not be able to continue responding to people who have alcohol-related emergencies. The survey screener question asking if participants were 21 years of age or older was completed by 998 participants.

While not widely recognized as a symptom of long COVID due to limited research, alcohol intolerance has been reported by some individuals. Alcohol use and alcohol-related deaths increased during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Past data shows binge drinking can have a massive effect on the immune system. Although some people turn to alcohol, there are many other ways of coping with feelings of depression and anxiety. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every family across the country, and alcohol misuse is complicating the situation in multiple ways. Finally, some jurisdictions loosened alcohol restrictions during the pandemic.

While hand sanitizers containing 60-95% ethyl alcohol can help destroy the coronavirus on surfaces, drinking alcohol—including beverages with high percentages of alcohol—offers no protection from the virus. The concentration of alcohol in the blood after one standard drink is in the range of 0.01–0.03% (a blood alcohol level of 0.01–0.03 gm%), which is a tiny fraction of the concentration needed to produce an antiseptic action. Around 20% of people with a social anxiety disorder experience alcohol use disorder. According to the European World Health Organization (WHO), alcohol does not protect against infection or illness relating to COVID-19.