Do you get Covid and Flu vaccines at the same time?

[Dan Murphy]

I do not. Even though the pharmacy says you can, I told the nurse I rather get them a few weeks apart and she agreed with me. In the unlikely event you have a reaction, seems like having them separate would make it easier to investigate what the issue was. I think the pharmacy suggests getting both together since they think people might not bother to return for the second one after having the first.

Everyone's system is probably different and never had a reaction to either of them (other than a sore arm), but some of my relatives feel ill for a day or two after getting them.

Same here for all of that. Last year I got RSV, flu and COVID shots, all several weeks apart. This year, another pneumonia shot, flu and COVID, all several weeks apart.

 

[bettertheangel]

I got both in the same arm at the same time this year and had no side effects or reactions.

 

[easyas123]

I have before, with no issues. I'm not getting the Covid shot this year, and already got my flu shot.

 

[sarahann77]

The pharmacy I go to wants them to be at least 5 days apart. Should there be any issues they want to know which one it is. I just got them - flue shot really didn't have a reaction, Covid just had the usual injection site soreness and redness.

 

[Wood Nymph]

I got the Covid shot and flu shot at the same time and in the same arm this year. It was the first year that I did it this way and I didn't have any reaction. I also followed the pharmacist's advice to move my arm a lot for the first few hours. That advice worked great. I didn't have any muscle soreness for the first time ever.

 

[BrianL]

I usually spread them out so I don't have to get a stick in both arms. I have a very easy and convenient way to do it through work though, so if I had to make a special trip, I might go ahead. Personally, I am not that worried about side-effects or interaction or anything.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think in large part this depends on how you normally react to each one. But I would consult with your doctor on if they think for you there's any increased risk of doing them both due to your prior shingles if you feel concerned about it. At the very least it's been several months assumedly from your shingles rather than a very recent occurrence.

For me I knew from my 2nd dose of the covid vaccine (which occurred in springtime) I would not in any way shape or form do both the flu vaccine and the covid vaccine together. This was because I reacted very negatively to the covid vaccine. When I had gotten the 3rd dose (booster) I did it more than a month after I had done my flu vaccine. I again reacted very negatively to the covid vaccine for that booster and have not gotten it again due to that.

I do not react negatively to the flu vaccine aside from my arm feeling heavy and having a mild soreness to it. The covid vaccine was so much worse there amongst other reactions. I continue to get the flu vaccine.

I know some of my in-laws have gotten both together but they've had the covid vaccine a ton of times by now.

 

[kanerf]

I get them both together. I hope at some point they come out with a combination so that you only need to get one injection.

 

[China Expat]

I did both. Just had a sore arm

 

[KPeterso]

I separate them. Got the Flu one a couple weeks ago and will get Covid next time. I like to know which one gives me a reaction if I am to have one.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I space mine out for two reasons, first is to not agitate my immunocompromised and autoimmune system any more than it already is and the second is to better match the seasonal patterns that appear to follow holiday gatherings, so I use holidays as benchmarks.

Flu usually really gets going during the December Holiday Season, it crests around New Years and skids to a sort of quiet sometime after Easter so for this reason I have been aiming at just before Thanksgiving to get us through April. We used to do it in October but everyone kept getting Flu type A in April and rolling the shot back a bit appears to have helped.

As for Covid, well this one seems to come on a bit earlier, probably because it is so much more contagious but at any rate it appears to sort of catch fire closer to Thanksgiving and then quiet down a bit around Valentines - St Paddy's. As a result, this one I do first and as close to Halloween as we can get.

This years Covid shot made everyone here sleepy so I'd go for a weekend where you can cozy up with movies if it happens. I guess it changes every year just like the Flu shot. Flu is next on deck.

As an aside I also picked up a bunch of multi tests for Covid, Flu A & Flu B to have on hand to prevent anyone from needlessly visiting a medical facility during respiratory illness season and to save from missing work and all that, to me $10 a test is worth it. Last year we did the ihealth ones and this year we did the Binax but I saw different ones in stores like Wegmans and I htink Walgreens makes one too I think so it is good there are options now. I would have loved this when my kids were little, no unnecessary missed days at school.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Although I got them both at the same time, and so did DH, what I strongly recommend is that if you have a spouse or someone else that you live with, get them at separate times from each other. Both DH and I had reactions for a day or two. In his case he had severe soreness and swelling at the Covid site; I felt like I got hit by a truck and fever for a day or two (doctor thought it was the flu shot).

 

[snapppyd]

So I just got the flu shot so far. Arm still a little sore 4 days later. Not sure about getting the Covid shot. I have to wait til next year for the Shingles vaccine, my doctor said to wait about a year after having them.

 

[Chirple]

Got flu and covid shots a week ago in the same arm. I took Tylenol PM before going to bed, which helped with the soreness (pharmacy tech jammed the needles into our arms). I was fine the next day but started having my typical flu shot reactions later in the evening. Saturday I was fine.

Last night I got my first pneumonia and RSV shots. Pharmacist did them gently. No soreness and so far no reactions.

 

[peabody58]

Yep! DW and I had our 'Date Day' and got the Covid, Flu and RSV a couple days ago. Usual sore arm!

 

[Christine]

This past Wednesday, I got both flu and COVID. I did the same arm. Historically, the COVID vaccines have never given me a side effect--not even a sore arm. I always worried about that. But anyway, I haven't had a COVID booster since later 2021. OTOH, the flu vaccine always knocks me for a loop so I carefully plan when I'm going to get it. Generally I get the vaccine and then about 8 hours later I started feeling achy, slight fever, etc. This time was different.

I had the vaccines at around 10AM. Ran home and got on a virtual meeting. By the end of the meeting at 11:30, I had a wave of fatigue hit me (believe me, before that I was feeling JUST fine). All day I could feel it worsening but I was able to function and I don't think I had fever. By the time I went to bed, I was in full-on body aches--arm was fully sore. I took two ibuprofen and that really helped and I slept okay.

Next day, in the house all day, and I felt COLD all day. Like not normal cold. It wasn't chills though. Took my temp, no fever. Just could not get warm. Body aches and dull headache were there. Later in the day I took some ibuprofen and felt a lot better. By evening, it was like a switch flipped and I thought I felt normal.

Yesterday which was 2 days after the injections I woke up feeling normal/fine. I was sore under my arm but I couldn't feel a swollen lymphnode. Around lunchtime though, I got hit with fatigue and some body aches but they were mild.

Today (Saturday), the underarm pain seems to be gone. I still have a little arm soreness. It's early--we'll see how the fatigue goes.

I think most of my issue comes from the flu vaccine; however, it was different this year so I think the COVID vaccine did make it a bit different. Last year I got flu and Shingrix together and I had issues but nothing major.

I thought I had read that it's good to get certain vaccines together because they complement the immune response and make it more robust, but I think it's quite a different matter if one has a disregulated immune system.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I was sore under my arm but I couldn't feel a swollen lymphnode. Around lunchtime though, I got hit with fatigue and some body aches but they were mild.

Today (Saturday), the underarm pain seems to be gone.

For me that was one of the lasting covid vaccine effects--a swollen lymph node. Second dose one lasted 5-6 weeks the booster for me lasted several months.

Both times a few days (right around when you noticed it for you) my area under my arm where the lymph nodes are would be painful, I could feel it getting worked up. It wasn't until a few days after that when the pain when away that the swollen lymph nodes was actually really detectable for me. The lymph node never hurt after that initial pain just stayed swollen for a long time.

Multiple of your symptoms match what I had with the covid vaccine. But for me at least I was running a fever, approximately 103. For a bit of context my normal temp seems to be about 97.9. With the 2nd dose I spent about 3 hours with bone-chilling, teeth chattering chills. No matter what I did I couldn't get warm. The booster was similar but just a wee bit less spent of that. Both times it was a fever around 103.

Body aches and fatigue were prevalent for me as well with the covid vaccine.

For both the 2nd dose and the booster it hit approximately the same time for me which is I had the vaccine in the morning and the symptoms were ramping up by dinner time.

For me I had extreme nausea and other stuff as well with the covid vaccine.

While I'm obviously only giving my experience given what you describe my best guess is most of your symptoms this time were related to the covid vaccine even if in the past you've also had some stuff with the flu vaccine.

 

[LuvOrlando]

The pharmacy I go to wants them to be at least 5 days apart. Should there be any issues they want to know which one it is. I just got them - flue shot really didn't have a reaction, Covid just had the usual injection site soreness and redness.

This makes a lot of sense, otherwise how on earth would anyone be able to know which bothered them and which didn't

 

[tvguy]

Nope. Doctor says to wait to get the flu shot until November, so that is on my list for this week. We were going on a two week trip the end of September, and we got the 2025-26 covid shot the day it came out, although our Doctor said the odds of the vaccine being the right strain are 50-50. But we did not get sick.

Getting our flu shot today.