This flu season, you have two very important vaccinations to get: flu and COVID-19. The good news is you can get both shots at the same time!
The benefits of getting both the flu and COVID-19 vaccines at once include:
- Convenience: Instead of putting two appointments on your schedule, getting both vaccines at once is a good use of your time.
- Recovery: If you experience any potential side effects from either vaccine, such as soreness or tiredness, you can recover during a single time period.
- Protection: By getting them both at once, you make sure you receive protection from both flu and COVID-19 viruses.
If you get both vaccines at a single visit, the health care provider should give them to you in separate sites – for example, in two different parts of your shoulder muscle or one in each arm.
Also, growing research supports the safety of getting your flu and COVID-19 vaccines at once.
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) supports getting both vaccines during one visit. Additionally, a recent British study supports the idea that getting both vaccines at the same time is just as effective and just as safe.
While the CDC says it’s not yet known whether this approach increases the potential for side effects, the British researchers found no additional side effects when people got both shots at the same time. When researchers measured the antibodies of study participants, they observed that giving flu and COVID-19 vaccines at the same time is just as effective as administering them individually.
Flu vaccinations are now available at our ministry’s primary care practices for existing patients. You can find more information on COVID-19 vaccinations on our website.
Also, both flu and COVID-19 are currently available at most retail pharmacies.
