Many adults ages 60 and up will be eligible for three vaccines this fall — a COVID booster the flu shot, and the new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine — so the big question is, can they get them all at once?
Since there are no data on giving this trio of vaccines at the same time, most experts advise a different strategy.
Take flu and COVID together, they told MedPage Today. The CDC endorses this, as there’s evidence and experience that people can take this combination just fine.
I live in Galena, IL. A friend of mine just passed away. He became extremely ill right after he got his COVID booster, a flu shot, and a pneumonia shot all at the same time. His heart shut down. This man was very healthy, he was a massage therapist in his early 60’s. Not over weight and walked all of the time.
I have my COVID vaccines and I am 75.
I believe in COVID vaccines, but something seems amiss about his death and so many vaccines all at once. I think this is a very important issue to be looked into.
Thank you.
Hi Mary, thank you for your comment.
Current CDC guidance is in alignment with guidance from other experts and recommends simultaneous administration of vaccines (again with a few obscure exceptions). You can find the entire 200-page CDC guideline document here: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/acip-recs/general-recs/index.html, complete with references.
We do have data for co-adminstration of COVID vaccines with flu vaccine, and two recent studies have demonstrated rather convincingly that simultaneous vaccination does not increase adverse events or impact efficacy:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2809119
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(23)00047-9/fulltext
While we do not have specific study data for COVID, RSV and flu given at the same time, the overwhelming evidence we have from other vaccines suggest that it should be fine. The best scientific evidence shows that simultaneous administration of vaccines generally does not increase the rate of adverse events and does increase the likelihood that people will receive all recommended vaccinations. That is why the Infectious Disease Society of America also recommends that coadministration is generally the best strategy: https://www.idsociety.org/covid-19-real-time-learning-network/vaccines/considerations-for-coadministering-covid-flu-andor-rsv-vaccines-this-fall/#/+/0/publishedDate_na_dt/desc/
A large number of Americans over the age of 60 will get co-administered vaccines this fall. During the fall of 2022, between 60,000 and 70,000 Americans died every week. The vast majority of them were over the age of 60. Therefore, statistically speaking, we can expect that some people will become very ill, and perhaps die, in close proximity to vaccination. This does not mean that the vaccine caused illness. If we see a rate of illness and death following vaccination that is above the rate of expected illness/death, then we should start to get concerned regarding causation. As of now, we do not have any indication that is happening.
James Lawler, MD, MPH, FIDSA
Global Center for Health Security
University of Nebraska Medical Center