Do you get COVID-19 and influenza vaccine at the same time?Yes it’s safe

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Confirmed In the guidance for the 2021-2022 flu season, yes, it’s okay to get COVID-19 and the flu vaccine at the same time.

“Influenza vaccination is an essential part of protecting your health and the health of your family each year. Take recommendations prevention To protect yourself from COVID-19 while you are vaccinated against the flu, “the CDC wrote.

“Basically, everyone should be vaccinated against the flu.” Ren HorowitzA physician and pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, a doctor of medicine, told Healthline. “Unless you have a vaccine allergy, there is no reason. Guillain-Barré, Or sometimes [people with] Multiple sclerosis [that] It should not be vaccinated, but it is a rare case. “

A study by the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom is investigating whether the booster COVID-19 vaccine can be safely given at the same time as the influenza vaccine.

NS ComFluCov study found Many groups can safely receive booster immunity with the flu vaccine.

“We usually like a few weeks between vaccinations, [and] In the past, we’ve demanded that we be able to get the flu and mRNA vaccines together, “said Horowitz.

Horowitz said last year’s cases of influenza had plummeted due to physical or social distance and masking measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“Let’s say this about the term” wind and rain, “which was coined around this time last year. It scared people and died, “said Horowitz. “In fact, we rarely saw influenza or other coronaviruses or streptococci due to masking.”

The CDC estimates that 12,000 to 61,000 people die each year from the flu. However, masking and physical distance prevented most of last year’s cases.

“Therefore, if people are still in compliance with their masking obligations, they may not get a higher incidence than last season,” he said. “Once fully vaccinated, it’s just a matter of whether people wear masks.”

The CDC also provides protection from respiratory viruses such as influenza and COVID-19 by wearing a mask and physically distanced, but vaccination with the flu vaccine will provide even greater benefits. Said.

“The best way to reduce the risk of influenza disease and its potentially serious complications is to get the flu vaccine every year for everyone over 6 months,” said the CDC. I have written.. “Influenza vaccination can also protect people around us who are more vulnerable to serious flu complications.”

Another reason to get a flu shot this year is New York When California, Removed many masks and physical distance obligations. This could mean that the flu virus could circulate much more freely than last year.

Teresa Murray Amato, MD, Chairman of Emergency Medicine, Long Island Jewish Forest Hills, New York, confirmed that both coronavirus and influenza virus can be “certainly” transmitted at the same time.

“In the spring of 2020, we saw several patients who tested positive for both influenza and COVID-19,” she said.

Although COVID-19 is far more dangerous overall than influenza, Amato warned that influenza could still be severe for some groups. Certain people, including very young and very old people, may be at increased risk of serious or dangerous illness.

“I definitely recommend flu shots to qualified people,” she said. “But especially in high-risk groups.”

The combination of COVID-19 and the flu virus “can be quite fatal,” said Horowitz, especially for people in the high-risk group.

However, Amato said that both the flu shot and the COVID-19 vaccine are “absolutely” available, but emphasized that it is best to first consult a doctor about the timing of both vaccines.

The flu season is approaching rapidly each year, and health experts say it is safe to vaccinate with COVID-19 and the flu at the same time.

Experts have confirmed that they can be infected with both influenza and coronaviruses, and the consequences can be fatal.

It is also said that you should first consult your doctor to see if it is appropriate to take both shots at the same time.