Can flu and COVID-19 vaccines be given at the same time?

Through various advertisements, health authorities seek to reach almost a third of the millions of Latinos and African Americans, who are hesitant to inoculate against influenza because they have doubts about how the injection against influenza interacts with vaccines against COVID -19.

While influenza activity during the 2020-2021 season was unusually low, due in large part to COVID-19 mitigation measures, such as the use of masks, the closure of schools and workplaces, and physical distancing The threat from influenza is likely to be much greater this year as many of those measures have been reduced, experts said.

During severe seasons, influenza has caused up to 41 million cases of illness and 710,000 hospitalizations among people in the United States.

The new effort extends the No One Has Time for Influenza campaign and introduces #AnotherCaseInfluenza to encourage more people to get vaccinated from various allied organizations including the Ad Council, the American Medical Association (AMA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Department of Disease (CDC) and the CDC Foundation today announced a new initiative to encourage more individuals to inoculate against seasonal flu.

WADA President Gerald E. Harmon said that with COVID-19 cases still alarmingly high amid the spread of the delta variant, getting vaccinated against influenza will help protect people from illness, hospitalizations and deaths.

“The influenza vaccine is safe, effective, and can be administered in conjunction with the COVID-19 vaccine,” he said.

Leandris Liburd, director of the CDC Office of Minority Health and Health Equity, added that there are many unknowns this fall and winter with the possibility of influenza and COVID-19 spreading at the same time.

“What we do know is that flu and COVID-19 vaccines can prevent many illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths. CDC is making additional efforts to promote immunization among people from racial and ethnic minority groups, who have historically had lower flu vaccination rates, ”he said.

The Nobody Has Time for Influenza campaign will take place nationwide during the 2021-2022 flu season, with a particular emphasis on reaching the African-American and Hispanic communities.

The campaign will be combined with #OtroCaseDeLaInfluenza to encourage people in the US to get vaccinated against the flu to avoid missing out on fun times like spending time with family and friends. An August 2021 survey by the Ad Council revealed that 30% of African Americans and 33% of Hispanics were undecided about getting a flu shot this season.

African Americans and Hispanics continue to be a key focus of the campaign due to inequities in healthcare that have created unnecessary burdens and barriers in their communities.

The ads for Nobody Has Time for Influenza and #OtroCasoDeLaInfluenza were created for free by the advertising agency fluent360 and will appear in print formats, on television, radio, social networks, panoramic, as well as digital formats throughout the country, in time and space. donated by the media.

CDC recommends that everyone 6 months and older (with rare exceptions) get a flu vaccine each year, ideally by the end of October.

Flu and COVID-19 vaccines can be given at the same time.

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