The CDC does suggest that those getting two shots at once get them in separate limbs, if possible.
The CDC also recommends people get the flu vaccine by the end of October. Those who get vaccinated too early, particularly older adults, may have “reduced protection against flu infection later in the season,” the CDC states.
As COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to rise across the Fredericksburg area, state and nation, some pharmacies, such as Walgreens, are preparing “for the co-circulation” of both viruses, according to a press release. “This year’s flu season coincides with the return to many in-person school, work, travel and social activities.”
One Virginia school system already has experienced the two-at-once phenomenon. Rappahannock County, a rural locality with about 850 students in two schools, returned to virtual learning after numerous cases of both infections, according to school officials.
On Aug. 23, the school system decided to stop in-person classes for the rest of the week because of nine cases of the flu and 11 positive cases of COVID-19, said Hollyann Jenkins, school spokesperson. Schools had been open for nine days at that point.
Officials realized they need to “create a new system where disjointed scheduling, late notices and large numbers of students and staff being quarantined does not happen regularly,” Superintendent Shannon Grimsley wrote in a letter to the community. “This has created a very tumultuous start for all.”
