Expert available: Is it okay to get your flu and COVID-19 shot together?

The fall is generally the start of flu season and when many of us get our annual flu vaccine. But what about bundling a flu vaccine with your COVID-19 shot? Earl Strum, MD, anesthesiologist and medical director of employee health at Keck Medicine of USC, offers the following advice.

“There is no medical reason to avoid getting the flu and COVID-19 vaccines at the same time unless advised otherwise by your health care provider. It is often more convenient for individuals to make one medical appointment than two,” said Strum. “Using different injection sites for the flu and COVID-19 vaccines — such as one in each arm — is recommended if you’re getting both vaccines at the same time. This is to help reduce any localized discomfort or swelling and to make it easier to identify which vaccine might have caused a reaction, if any occurs.”

Dr. Strum is available to talk about the importance of vaccines, including the shingles and RSV vaccine, as well as the timing of more than two vaccines.