Coadministration of Flu and Covid Shots Not a Risk

Getting a flu shot and COVID-19 shot at the same time is safe and has no increased risk of adverse effects. New research, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, evaluating the 90-day risks for adverse events after coadministration of COVID-19 and influenza vaccines versus receipt of only the flu vaccine, showed no statistically significant risks at any level of severity.

For the study, 2.5 million adults were either administered a flu shot only, or coadministered same-day COVID-19 and influenza vaccines. The effects were then assessed against three tiers of severity (serious or life-threatening, clinically significant, and less severe or self-limiting) for 90 days during 3 updated COVID-19 vaccine formulation periods (bivalent, XBB-adapted, and KP-adapted). No outcome showed a statistically significant difference between flu vaccine only and flu and COVID-19 vaccine coadministration.

Overall, the study’s findings that same-day coadministration of COVID-19 and influenza vaccines was not associated with increased risk for adverse events during the 90 days of follow-up across 3 updated-formulation periods support the short-term safety of coadministration in older adults. The findings also may help inform ongoing vaccine policy discussions and individual risk–benefit assessments.

The authors note that these results should be considered in the context of the risks for SARS-CoV-2 infection itself, which continues to cause substantial morbidity and mortality in the U.S., with an estimated 879,000 hospitalizations and 101,000 deaths during the 2023 to 2024 surveillance period. Additionally, the nearly 300 recruits infected with the flu in the Lackland AFB outbreak, resulting in at least four hospitalizations and one death, show the need for population immunity.

For ongoing updates on the current status and risk of COVID-19, influenza, and other communicable diseases, see TAG’s monthly updated Communicable Disease Risk Matrix.

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Influenza

Public Health News

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