STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — If you’ve recently tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), you’ll need to observe a short waiting period before receiving the flu vaccine, according to federal medical experts.
Clinicians should defer flu vaccination for symptomatic patients with COVID-19 until these patients are no longer moderately or severely ill and have completed their COVID-19 isolation period, the National Institute of Health (NIH) recommends.
And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in its 2021-2022 guidance also says patients should defer until their isolation period has passed, whether or not they have symptoms, and should warn the provider if they currently have symptoms of COVID-19.
The isolation period recommended for those with COVID is currently five days, beginning with the first full day after testing positive, plus an additional five days of mask wearing and social distancing, according to the CDC. If you had no symptoms, yet develop symptoms within 10 days of when you were first tested, the clock restarts at day 0 on the day of symptom onset. Those with COVID who are in a healthcare setting can receive the flu vaccine sooner, the NIH advises.
The regulations are in place to protect providers, the NIH says on its website. The CDC has further guidance about when someone who has had COVID can be around others, including getting a vaccination.
Yet, some vaccine providers, including CVS Pharmacy, are requiring those seeking the flu shot to wait 14 days from their last positive COVID test before scheduling a flu shot in the pharmacy. At Walgreens, there is no mention of COVID while registering for a flu shot online. The same is true at Rite Aid.
TRUE FLU SEASON
Medical experts are predicting a “true” flu season, like we’ve seen before the COVID-19 pandemic kept us inside, masked and socially-distanced, and they are urging all Americans to get vaccinated against the flu.
Australia just experienced its worst flu season in five years. Since what happens during Southern Hemisphere winters often foreshadows what the United States can expect, medical experts are bracing for a brutal flu season this winter.
And since people have largely abandoned masking and social distancing precautions that earlier in the pandemic also helped prevent the spread of other respiratory bugs like the flu, more transmission is expected, doctors warn.
The United States expects 173 million to 183 million doses of flu vaccine to be distributed this year.
The CDC advises all eligible people receive a flu vaccine by the end of October, but it also says the vaccine can be given any time during flu season. It takes about two weeks for the vaccine’s flu protection to set in.
FLU SHOT AND COVID BOOSTER
And yes, you can get a flu shot and an updated COVID-19 booster at the same time — one in each arm to lessen soreness.
All flu vaccines in the U.S. — including types for people younger than 65 — are “quadrivalent,” meaning they guard against four different flu strains.
Those over age 65, whose immune systems don’t respond as strongly to standard flu vaccination, are urged to get a vaccine offering extra protection.
There are three choices. Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent vaccine and Flublok Quadrivalent recombinant flu vaccine each contain higher doses of the main anti-flu ingredient. The other option is Fluad Quadrivalent adjuvanted flu vaccine, which has a regular dosage but contains a special ingredient that helps boost people’s immune response.
If none of the three flu vaccines preferentially recommended for people 65 and older is available at the time of administration, people in this age group can get any other age-appropriate flu vaccine instead, the CDC says.
Young people have choices, too, including shots for those with egg allergies and a nasal spray version called FluMist.
According to the CDC, everyone ages 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine every season with rare exceptions. Vaccination is particularly important for people who are at higher risk of serious complications from influenza. A full listing of people at Higher Risk of Developing Flu-Related Complications is available on the CDC website.
REDUCES ILLNESS
Even if it doesn’t prevent the flu, vaccination can reduce flu illnesses, visits to doctor’s offices, and missed work and school due to flu, as well as make symptoms less severe and reduce flu-related hospitalizations and deaths, the CDC says.
Flu shots also are recommended for those who are pregnant and people with certain chronic health conditions.
The nasal spray flu vaccine is approved for use in people 2 years through 49 years of age. People who are pregnant and people with certain medical conditions should not receive the nasal spray flu vaccine.
There are many vaccine options to choose from.
More information is available at the CDC website: Who Should and Who Should NOT Get a Flu Vaccine.
