IIf you have not received or received a COVID-19 vaccination in the past few months, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that you should Get a new booster potion This fall. The latest shots that were authorized in late August And now available, it is designed to target Omicron variants that are currently in circulation.
New boosters can be given at the same time as seasonal influenza vaccine, says the Center for Disease Control. But should you be getting both hits at once, or spaced between them? It’s a simple question with a surprisingly complex answer.
anyway Opinion is not universalmany experts, Including White House medical advisor Dr. Anthony FauciLet’s say you should get a COVID-19 booster as soon as you qualify — at least two months after your last vaccine dose or three months after your last SARS-CoV-2 infection. in Recent podcast interviewAshish Jha, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, recommended getting support from Halloween to ensure you’re protected during the holidays and the usual winter virus season.
“Get it now. If you have been vaccinated or [recently] “Injured, it’s okay to wait a little longer,” Jha said. “But don’t wait too long. Don’t wait until you get to late November, December. Do it sooner rather than later.”
The timing of Jha’s proposed boost is consistent with the CDC’s advice on influenza vaccinations, which are due to be vaccinated by the end of October. It has been suggested that people get both shots simultaneously. Jha said through Recent press briefing.
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It is safe to get both shots on the same day. Both vaccines can cause side effects — including soreness at the injection site, headache, fever, nausea, fatigue, and muscle aches — so while you may feel upset if they compound, there’s no medical reason to avoid doing so. “If a person wants to have both at the same time, they can,” says Dr. Alicia Fry, chief of the epidemiology and prevention branch in the Division of Influenza at the CDC. “If it is convenient for that person, it is a very efficient use of their time.”
Dr. Richard Zimmerman, who directs the Pittsburgh Immunization Research Group and served on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vaccine Advisory Committee, agrees that now is the time to get a booster dose of COVID-19, given that the number of cases remains high across the world. country. (Zimmermann got a booster dose of Omicron in early September.) But in his opinion, September is a little early to get a flu shot.
“The ideal is to schedule the vaccinations before the season of whatever contagious disease is,” he says. “Flu season usually happens from December to March, so I personally delay receiving the flu shot until October or November.”
2021 study It found that the effectiveness of the flu vaccine diminishes by about 10% each month after vaccination – so if someone was vaccinated against the flu in September, they could be at risk of contracting the virus if they were exposed in February or March. else study, which was published in 2019 and looked specifically at older adults, found that if all older adults who are normally vaccinated against the flu got their vaccines starting in October, rather than August or September, more than 11,000 cases of influenza among the elderly could be avoided. In a typical season. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it’s OK to get vaccinated in November or later, when the flu can circulate through May.
However, there is another complicating factor. Scientists in the US often look to Australia, which experiences flu season during the US spring and summer, to predict what will happen in the US – and Australia has had an unusually early flu season this year. The Influenza has not spread widely in the United States yet, but based on what happened in Australia, that is likely to change soon. “This year, I think there’s a good reason to get the flu shot early in the fall,” says Dr. Brandon Webb, an infectious disease specialist at Intermountain Medical Center in Utah.
It is clear that many variables go into making the ideal vaccination schedule. For people at high risk of severe COVID-19 or the flu, it may be helpful to have a conversation with a health care provider to assess these details — but most people don’t need to stress too much about timing, Zimmerman says. Ultimately, the best time to get vaccinated is when you will actually do so. And if getting a flu shot and a COVID-19 booster treatment simultaneously is the only way to get both, an appointment for both vaccines may be the way to go.
For some people, getting to a doctor or a medical facility is difficult. For them, the convenience of getting both vaccines at the same time may outweigh the risk of dwindling [protection]Zimmerman says. “If you don’t enter because you are trying to set the time perfectly,” you will be left absolutely defenseless.
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