Can You Get the Flu Shot and COVID Vaccine or Booster at the Same Time? - Prevention.com

And, of course, if you’re considering getting vaccinated against COVID-19 in the first place, your shots could also overlap with your seasonal flu vaccine (which the CDC recommends you get by the end of October).

When the COVID-19 vaccines were first granted emergency use authorization, the CDC recommended waiting 14 days between getting that and any other vaccine, says Thomas Russo, M.D., professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York.

But the CDC now says that it’s OK to get a COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines in the same visit.

“Experience with other vaccines has shown that the way our bodies develop protection, known as an immune response, after getting vaccinated and possible side effects of vaccines are generally the same when given alone or with other vaccines,” the CDC says online.

Schaffner says it’s “really tough to say” what you might feel like or what potential side effects you could experience if you get both vaccines simultaneously.

Schaffner says that “a lot will depend on your previous experience with the vaccines.” Meaning, if you tend to get a slight fever after the flu vaccine and you got a fever after your COVID-19 vaccine, there’s a decent chance you’ll experience the same if you get them together—and possibly even more intensely than if you receive one at a time.

Whatever you do, doctors recommend getting both the COVID-19 vaccine and the flu shot.