- For the first time in history, vaccines for coronavirus, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus are available in the United States.
- Most people simply need to consider whether they should receive the latest, newly approved coronavirus vaccination at the same time as the completely safe and effective influenza vaccine.
- Meanwhile, only adults 60 and older are eligible for the new respiratory syncytial virus vaccine, and will need to get all three doses this fall.
Pharmacist Ani Martirosyan administers a vaccination to a patient at CVS on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, in Glendale, California.
Brian Van Der Brug | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
For the first time in history, vaccines for coronavirus, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus are available in the United States.
Public health officials will vaccinate eligible Americans with all three doses to help the nation avoid another “triple outbreak” of coronavirus, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus that flooded hospitals last fall and winter. I am calling on you to do so. But the fact that some people can receive three shots has raised questions about whether the jabs should be taken at once or spaced out.
Most people only need to consider whether they should get the latest Pfizer or Moderna coronavirus vaccinations and the flu vaccine at the same time. Because both are widely available to all Americans. Public health officials, doctors, and recent research have found that taking them during a doctor’s or pharmacy visit is completely safe and effective.
Meanwhile, roughly 76.5 million Adults 60 and older are eligible to receive the new RSV vaccine from Pfizer or GSK and will need to get all three doses this fall. Pfizer’s maternal vaccine protects infants from her RSV, but that vaccine is not yet available.
Health experts told CNBC that they don’t expect there to be any problems getting all three shots at once.
Still, other experts say little research has been done on combining the RSV vaccine with another vaccine or on vaccination. All 3 shots together. If you are more comfortable with the RSV jab, choose it; others can do the two at different times.
Health experts say the choice ultimately comes down to the individual and what they believe is best for them, and people should not hesitate to consult their doctor if they have any questions.
“There’s no evidence that there’s a risk of getting all three at the same time,” Dr. Ali Alhassani, an internist at Boston Children’s Hospital, told CNBC. She noted that children often receive up to five routine immunizations at once, so administering multiple vaccines is not uncommon.
Similarly, Dr. Andrew Pekosch, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, says, “I don’t want people to think that there’s going to be a problem taking these together because it probably isn’t.” Told.
But he added: “Absent the data, I wouldn’t make a completely over-the-top recommendation that everyone should take all three at the same time.”
Taking all three shots at the same time is ideal for people who don’t have time to take multiple shots. “The biggest benefit of combining all three is convenience,” Alhassani says.
Several the study Johns Hopkins University’s Pekosz said there is evidence that many people don’t even return when they need a second shot.
For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention It is recommended Certain Americans need two or three doses of the HPV vaccine.but the study showed that HPV vaccination uptake decreased between the first and subsequent vaccinations.
The United States encountered similar problems during its initial coronavirus vaccine rollout in 2020 and 2021. Many Americans missed their second initial shot.
“It’s clear that whenever people have to go to the pharmacy twice on different occasions, there’s going to be an attrition rate,” Pekos told CNBC. “So it’s better to have them in your arms during the same visit than not to make a second visit because you’re too busy to go again.”
At pharmacies, Americans can schedule multiple vaccine appointments in one visit. For example, Kroger’s online scheduling tool allows eligible people to choose up to three vaccines to receive at one time.
Dr. Mark Watkins, Kroger Health’s chief medical officer, told CNBC that using this tool and working with Kroger clinicians, pharmacists, and physician assistants, people can simultaneously determine which vaccine is right for them. He said he is helping people decide whether to get vaccinated.
Some people may want to wait for the data to be output before taking all three shots together. Some people may choose to take the vaccines separately for physical comfort, said Al Hassani of Boston Children’s Hospital.
One of the most common side effects of vaccination is inflammation or pain at the injection site, he noted. Therefore, patients who require two injections during the same visit typically receive one injection in each arm.
But Alhassani said some people may not want to experience the discomfort of being shot three times in one or both arms at the same time. This is especially true for people who regularly engage in activities that require frequent movement of their arms.
“If you play sports and have a big game coming up, or if you’re a teacher who writes a lot on the blackboard or whiteboard, you use your shoulders and arms a lot,” he says. “For practical reasons, you might want to say, “Rather than my left shoulder hurting really bad today, I just want my left shoulder to hurt today and then next week.”
If you’re going to get the three separate vaccinations, you should get the latest COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible, followed immediately by the RSV shot, and finally get the flu shot, Pekosh said.
He specifically recommended a one-week gap, saying, “The wider the gap, the more likely people are not to return.”
Pekosz based the vaccine order on how widespread these respiratory viruses are in the U.S. right now.
The latest Covid shots must be a top priority as the virus is already spreading at higher levels. The number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in the United States has increased for the seventh straight week, reaching 17,418 as of the week ending August 26, according to the latest data from the CDC.
RSV cases are also slowly starting to increase. The CDC warned doctors last week about increased respiratory syncytial virus activity in some parts of the Southeast. The CDC said in its advisory notice that regional increases typically predict the beginning of RSV season nationally.
Meanwhile, Pekos said, “We don’t really have influenza yet.”
He pointed out that people can also get the COVID-19 and influenza shots at the same time and then get the RSV vaccine a week later. “This is how we are following all the science supporting the combination,” he told CNBC.