Shingles, flu and COVID-19: Here’s how doctors say to prioritize the vaccines

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Many people ages 65 or older are getting the COVID-19 vaccine and are also likely juggling other vaccines.

Doctors recommend the flu and shingles for people 65 and older. But is it safe to take all of them around the same time?

While all three vaccines are important to get, doctors say you should wait two weeks between the COVID-19 shots and the flu and shingles vaccines.

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Doctors say it’s safe, but they strongly prioritize the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Which ones are going to make our patients sicker and put them in the hospital? COVID-19 is going to be the first one,” said Dr. Federico Hinestrosa, infectious disease physician.

But if you can’t get that shot right away, doctors recommend getting the flu vaccine first.

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But whichever you end up getting first, leave two weeks between each one.

“Currently, we do not have enough safety and efficacy data for both Moderna and Pfizer vaccines if they are given simultaneously with flu or shingle vaccines,” said Dr. Aftab Khan, an internal medicine physician.

Doctors right now can’t say for sure if the COVID-19 vaccine would interfere with other vaccines.

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“If we are going to see any major adverse reaction or allergic reactions, usually they happen within 72 hours,” Khan said. “So I think two weeks is plenty of time to know what’s going to happen after we receive the vaccine.”

“Usually, there’s not a problem with that interaction between influenza and other vaccines,” Hinestrosa added.

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Cox Media Group