I just got my booster and flu shot at the same time last Tuesday. I’m in my early 30’s but work in healthcare and my hospital requires both. I was one of the first to receive the vaccine back in December and felt guilty then being at low risk for COVID complications/death versus more vulnerable populations. Once again I feel bad that there are others in the world who are at much higher risk than me but do not have access to the vaccine. That said, I’m glad the CDC advised boosters only for higher risk populations vs. the original White House plan to give everyone boosters. The latter plan isn’t well supported by evidence and ignores the fact there is still much of the world that isn’t vaccinated to begin with.
Anyways, similar to my first two COVID vaccines, I had some injection site pain and felt pretty tired for the rest of the day.
Flu shots or COVID-19 boosters: which should you get first?
Experts say the order doesn’t matter, and getting them both at once is preferred
I got my flu shot and COVID booster 2 weeks apart just to be on the safe side. I didn't really have a choice anyway because the boosters weren't approved yet when I got the flu shot, but I would've waited anyway.
It’s generally recommended that higher risk people (older, immunocompromised, etc) get their flu shot around the end of October because flu vaccine immunity wanes, especially in these populations, and doesn’t necessarily last the entire flu season. By getting vaccinated at the end of the October, immunity will be greatest during the period of the peak flu season where risk is greatest.
I haven’t read any guidance specifically preferring getting both the flu vaccine and COVID booster at the same, however I can see these being informally recommended to ensure people actually end up getting both. It’s easier for people to get both shots at once, which means a greater chance of compliance.
Aside from getting optimal timing for the flu vaccine as mentioned earlier in my post, there is no reason not to get both vaccines at once. When the COVID vaccine was first authorized it t was recommended not to have it administered if you had received another vaccine within two weeks prior. This was merely a precaution due to a lack of data and the guideline has since been removed. (Medically speaking, it’s highly unlikely an interaction between this vaccine and others would ever be a problem).
Each vaccine alone obviously may cause some side effects (injection site pain, muscle aches, headache, fatigue, etc), but that doesn’t necessarily mean such symptoms will be twice as bad. The side effects may be the same taking both at the same time as they would be individually, meaning you have to deal with them twice. And there is actually some evidence to support that idea.
There has long been this mythical idea of “vaccine overload” or “immunity overload” where giving too many vaccines at the same time makes vaccines less effective or puts the individual at risk for side effects or permanent health issues. This often is brought up with the anti-vaxx crowd in reference to childhood vaccinations. This idea has been researched extensively and there is no evidence to support it.
On a similar note, keep in mind it’s not uncommon for people to receive multiple vaccines at once. It’s also not uncommon for multiple vaccines to be grouped into one vaccine product- for example the MMR vaccine combines measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines (and we also now have MMRV, which also includes varicella aka chickenpox).
You may also notice your annual flu shot includes the term “trivalent” or “quadrivalent” in its the name (Tri meaning 3, Quadri meaning 4, and Valent meaning to “combined form”). The flu vaccine is technically not one vaccine but actually 3 or 4 different vaccines to cover various strains. All flu vaccines this season are quadrivalent. So if you get the flu shot and COVID booster at the same time, you’re actually receiving 5 vaccines at once. Moderna is actually working on a combined COVID booster + Flu vaccine product.
What I do find fascinating though is that you hardly hear about pushback about the flu shot which is newly developed every year, yet there is so much hesitancy around the COVID vaccine of which billions of doses have been administered and monitored with perhaps the greatest oversight of any pharmaceutical product in history. While it’s true researching long term side effects in anything but real time is difficult if not impossible, find me an example of a vaccine that has caused long term adverse effects. As I have mentioned and explained many times before on this forum, it’s incredibly unlikely due to their mechanism of action versus traditional small molecule drugs.
