Topline
According to a U.K. study, it is safe and effective to receive a flu shot simultaneously with a Covid-19 vaccine. This new study lends support to U.S. officials who are distributing coronavirus boosters to people, while also urging them to prevent the flu.
Experts urge people to be vaccinated against flu and Covid-19. NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Key Facts
Researchers said that the trial which examined side effects and immune responses in 679 people who received both flu shots and Covid-19 shots found no safety concerns. The preprint study revealed that side effects such as fatigue, headache, and injection site pain were mostly mild to moderate. This is in line with what can be expected from each vaccine. However, it has not been peer-reviewed and published in a scientific journal. The volunteers had received one dose of AstraZeneca and Pfizers Covid-19 vaccines. They were then tested for a second dose. The researchers cautioned that the findings of this study may not be applicable to other Covid-19 vaccines within the same class, such as the Moderna vaccine, due to the novelty of the technology used in building the Pfizer or AstraZeneca shots. Researchers believe that flu shots and Covid-19 vaccines can reduce healthcare costs, as well as make vaccines more accessible to those most in need.
What to Watch
The Lancet medical journal will publish the full results of this study.
Important Background
Experts warned about a twindemic in the first year after the pandemic. This was a deadly combination of influenza and Covid-19. It didn't happen. Covid-19 was effectively eliminated in the United States thanks to public health measures. Experts are split on what will happen if the flu returns, despite the fact that there have been fewer restrictions. It may be less dangerous because it has not had much time to evolve, or it could reach a vulnerable population who have not been exposed to the virus. Experts advise everyone to be vaccinated against both flu and other diseases. They warn that the flu outbreaks could overwhelm hospitals.
Big Number
650,000. According to the World Health Organization, that's approximately how many people die from the flu each year. It is responsible for approximately 5 million cases of severe disease.
Continue reading
Concomitant administration of COVID-19 Vaccines (ChAdOx1 and BNT162b2) and Seasonal Influenza Vaccines to Adults: A Phase IV Randomised Controlled Trial With Blinding (ComFluCOV). (Lancet Preprint).
Pfizer tests first mRNA flu shot in patients as firm builds on covid vaccinae success (Forbes).
Covid was the time when Flu vanished. How will it return? (NYT).
Telegraph: A flu pandemic worse that Covid is still the top biological risk to human health
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