Ask a Pediatrician: Can Kids Get the COVID-19 Vaccine and Flu Shot at the Same Time? | Connecticut Children's

Many parents wonder if their child can get both immunizations at once.

Connecticut Children’s Physician-in-Chief Juan C. Salazar, MD, MPH, FAAP, answers.

Is it safe for my child to get the COVID-19 vaccine and flu shot at the same time?

Dr. Salazar: Yes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have determined that it’s safe to get the COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as other routine vaccines, including the flu shot.

Flu shots are readily available and it’s not too late. Kids don’t need to wait between vaccines. More on this below.

Why did the CDC change its guidance about waiting between a COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines?

When the COVID-19 vaccine was first authorized in the U.S., the CDC recommended waiting several weeks between it and other vaccines. This was out of an abundance of caution, since the COVID-19 vaccine was brand new to all of us.

Now, countless doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in the U.S. alone, and experts can see that it’s performing as expected. They feel confident that it doesn’t interact with other vaccines, and can be safely and effectively administered at the same time.

> Related: Is the COVID-19 Vaccine Linked to Heart Problems in Young People?

Will getting the COVID-19 vaccine and the flu vaccine at the same time affect how well each works?

In general, both vaccines should offer the same protection whether they’re given alone or together.

What about getting the COVID-19 shot and flu shot around the same time, but not the same day?

That’s fine. It’s just as safe and effective for your child to get a COVID-19 shot and a flu shot on the same day as it is to get them several days or weeks (or months) apart.

Can I schedule a single doctor’s visit for my child’s COVID-19 shot and flu shot?

You’ll need to talk to your child’s pediatrician about what’s possible, since it depends on how both vaccines are distributed in your community.

Your child’s pediatrician should always be your main point of contact for any health questions or updates. If your child gets the COVID-19 shot or flu shot from somewhere other than their pediatrician’s office, be sure to let their pediatrician know so they can add it to their medical records.

Will getting the COVID-19 shot and the flu shot at the same time cause any new or unusual side effects?

According to the CDC, no. However, your child could still experience some typical side effects from the COVID-19 shot and the flu shot.

For instance, the COVID-19 vaccine and the flu vaccine can both cause soreness where they’re injected. Because of this, your child’s vaccine provider may suggest using different parts of the body for each injection, like giving the flu shot in the right arm and the COVID-19 shot in the left arm.

Your child could also experience fatigue, headache, body aches and low-grade fever as a side effect from one or both vaccines.

All of these symptoms are generally mild and go away within one to two days.

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Juan C. Salazar, MD, MPH, FAAP

Juan Carlos Salazar, MD, MPH, is Professor and Chair of Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and Executive Vice President and Physician-in-Chief at Connecticut Children’s.

In addition to serving in these roles, Dr. Salazar has led the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology at Connecticut Children’s and has been nationally and internationally recognized for both his outstanding clinical care and his innovative research work. Dr. Salazar has received several National Institutes of Health grants to study the human innate immune response to Borrelia burgdorferi and Treponema pallidum, the causative agents of Lyme disease and syphilis respectively. He is currently funded by the NIH to develop a first of its kind syphilis vaccine. The NIH funded U-19 project includes investigators in China, Malawi, Colombia and the US. Most recently his team received funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to study the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a rare but serious condition associated with COVID-19. He has published over 100 peer reviewed articles and book chapters and has served in multiple scientific review panels at the NIH.

Dr. Salazar also directs the Pediatric and Youth HIV program at the Medical Center. His team has promoted and facilitated regional STD and HIV-prevention programs for at-risk high school youth. Dr. Salazar is the current recipient of Ryan White Care Act federal funding to coordinate and provide statewide HIV treatment and prevention services for women, infants, children and youth. He has conducted several NIH and pharmaceutical industry sponsored pediatric and adolescent HIV clinical trials and long-term follow-up studies.

He received his medical degree from the Universidad Javeriana, in Bogota, Colombia, and his MPH from the University of Minnesota. He completed a residency in Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut Health Center, where he also served as chief resident, and a post-doctoral fellowship in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Minnesota. He is board certified in both Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases.