Getting a Covid booster and a flu shot together is better than getting them separately, a new study has found.
The study, presented at an annual Vaccines Summit in Boston, involved two groups of Massachusetts healthcare workers.
The first group of 12 received the bivalent Covid booster and seasonal influenza shot together. The second group of 30 healthcare workers received the Covid booster and flu shot on different days within the same month.
The antibodies of both groups were then measured. The research concluded that the group that had their shots administered together had higher levels of immunoglobulin G1, or IgG1 – the antibodies that counter Covid-19 and that strain of influenza.
Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told the Guardian that it was an interesting finding.
“[It’s] possibly due to enhanced stimulation of the immune system by both vaccines being present at the same time,” Adalja said. “The key thing is to see if this has any kind of meaningful clinical benefit – do the higher levels of antibody translate into more protection against infection or disease?”
The study has not been peer-reviewed yet, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends “getting a flu vaccine and Covid-19 vaccine at the same visit”.
The CDC does not give a reason for getting both together but assures it is safe.
The CDC cited one of its own studies on the side-effects that follow getting both shots at the same time. According to the CDC’s findings, although there are more side-effects associated with getting the Covid-19 booster and flu shot together, the side-effects are not as bad as only getting the Covid-19 booster.
The CDC says: “People who got a flu vaccine and Covid-19 monovalent vaccine at the same time were slightly more likely to have reactions including fatigue, headache, and muscle ache than people who only got a Covid-19 monovalent vaccine, but those reactions were mostly mild and went away quickly.”
Adalja said there also existed some data pointing to a possible small increased risk of strokes and mini-strokes in the elderly who get high doses of these vaccines, but said he did not believe it was a very meaningful increase in risk.
Ultimately, whether for ease or the benefit of health, getting both the Covid and flu vaccines together seems to yield positive results.
Adalja said: “Taking both vaccines at the same time is something that has always been more convenient for patients but now may also have an added immunologic benefit and should be generally recommended for those eligible for both vaccines.”
