American scientists assessed the safety of simultaneous vaccinations against COVID-19 and bird flu

Amid talk of a coronavirus comeback, a new US study suggests it’s better to use Covid and flu vaccines together. A study of Massachusetts health care workers found higher levels of antibodies in the group that received both shots at the same time.

A new study has found that getting a Covid-19 vaccine and a flu shot together is better than getting them separately, The Guardian writes.

The study, presented at the annual vaccine summit in Boston, involved two groups of Massachusetts health care workers.

The first group of 12 people received the bivalent Covid vaccine and the seasonal flu vaccine at the same time. A second group of 30 healthcare workers received a Covid booster vaccine and a flu shot on different days over the course of one month.

The scientists then measured the antibody levels in both groups. The study concluded that the group that received the shots together had higher levels of immunoglobulin G1, or IgG1, antibodies that fight Covid-19 and that strain of flu.

Amesh Adalja, a senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said in a commentary to The Guardian that this was an interesting finding.

“This may be due to increased stimulation of the immune system by simultaneous administration of both vaccines,” Adalja says. “The key is to see if this has any meaningful clinical benefit—do higher antibody levels lead to greater protection against infection or disease?”

The study has not yet been peer-reviewed, but the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) still recommends “getting both the flu and Covid-19 vaccines at the same visit.”

The CDC, as The Guardian writes, does not give reasons for combining both drugs, but assures that it is safe.

The CDC cites one of its own studies on side effects that occur after taking both vaccines at the same time. According to the CDC’s findings, although there are more side effects associated with receiving the Covid-19 vaccine and a flu shot at the same time, the side effects are not as severe as when receiving the Covid-19 vaccine alone.

According to The Guardian, the CDC says: “People who received both a flu vaccine and a monovalent Covid-19 vaccine were slightly more likely to experience reactions including fatigue, headache and muscle aches than people who received only the monovalent Covid-19 vaccine, but these reactions were mostly mild and resolved quickly.”

Amesh Adalja emphasizes that there is also some evidence that suggests there may be a small increase in the risk of strokes and mini-stroke in older people who receive high doses of these vaccines, but said he does not believe this is a very significant increase in risk.

Ultimately, whether for simplicity or health benefits, using Covid and flu vaccines together appears to produce positive results, The Guardian continues.

Adalja emphasizes: “Taking both vaccines at the same time is something that has always been more convenient for patients, but may now also have an additional immunological benefit and should generally be recommended for those who are eligible to receive both vaccines.”