Is it OK to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine at the Same Time as the Flu Vaccine?

Yes, it's safe for kids to get a COVID-19 vaccine along with any other routine vaccine, including the flu vaccine.

All kids 6 months of age and older should get the flu vaccine and an updated COVID-19 vaccine as soon as these are available in their communities in the fall. Some kids might need more than one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, depending on their age, their health status, how many vaccines they got in the past, and which vaccine they got.

When COVID-19 vaccines first became available, experts had suggested that people not get other vaccines at the same time. Instead, they recommended getting them either 2 weeks before or after the COVID-19 vaccine. But now that millions of people have gotten a COVID-19 vaccine (including children), it’s clear that they’re safe and effective when given with other vaccines.

Getting both vaccines now can mean fewer trips to the doctor and feeling any vaccine-related side effects only once. Kids already get some routine childhood vaccines for different infections in a single shot, such as the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP) vaccine. And doctors often give multiple shots during one office visit. The immune system handles these well.

Some families might make two stops to get the vaccines — for example, they might get the COVID-19 shot at a pharmacy and the flu vaccine at the doctor’s office. Getting them around the same time but not on the same day is OK too.