This may save you a trip to the doctor in the future.

Now that everyone has had the chance to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the question is whether it will stay with these two shots (or one Janssen shot). Certainly not for Dutch people with a serious immune disorder; they will soon receive a new invitation for a corona jab. And the Health Council – which advises the cabinet on so-called booster vaccinations – has previously indicated that it expects other groups to need a third shot in the long run. The Council is thinking, for example, of the people who were the first to be vaccinated in the Netherlands: the elderly and people with vulnerable health.

To combine

The latter group also receives an invitation for the flu shot every year. And wouldn’t it be useful if that booster vaccination is combined with the flu shot? But is that possible? Is that safe? And are both vaccines still equally effective? In Britain they figured it out. And the research shows that the vaccines can be safely administered at the same time – one in each arm. And that the immune response to both vaccines is as strong as ever.

The research

British scientists draw this conclusion on the basis of a study of 679 test subjects. These subjects were divided into two groups and visited the researchers three times. During the first visit, one group received a second corona shot and a flu vaccine. During the second visit, this group was injected with a saline solution. The second group received a second corona vaccine and saline during the first visit and received a flu vaccine during the second visit. During the third visit, all subjects were asked about any side effects. They also all shed some blood.

Effects

During the experiment, the researchers worked with two different corona vaccines and three different flu shots. A total of six combinations were therefore tested. And the results are reassuring. The most common side effects were pain around the injection site and fatigue – so mild in nature. Some combinations of vaccinations did increase the number of people reporting at least one side effect when the vaccines were given concomitantly, but those reported side effects were mostly mild.

Effectiveness

The researchers also used the blood samples to determine how effective the immune response was. And those results are also positive. The immune response to both the flu and corona vaccines was not affected by the fact that they were administered at the same time.

Positive

The subjects – who were therefore injected in two arms – were also positive about the double injection. No fewer than 97 percent of the subjects indicated that they would be willing to receive two injections in one appointment in the future.

All in all, good news, according to researcher Rajeka Lazarus. “Through this research, we have been able to establish that it is possible to protect people against both COVID-19 and the flu with one appointment. That’s really positive because it means fewer appointments are needed for people who need both vaccines, making it easier for people with underlying health conditions who are usually also offered the flu vaccine.”

At the moment it is not entirely clear whether it is necessary for the majority of the population to receive a third (or in the case of Janssen: second) corona jab. The Health Council announced last month that the protection offered by corona vaccines against infection has decreased somewhat over time for some of those vaccines. But that doesn’t apply to protection against serious illness; it is still undiminished high. That is why the Health Council currently sees no reason to widely recommend the booster vaccine. However, if it turns out at a later stage that the vaccine effectiveness against serious illness begins to decline, it may be necessary to invite other groups in addition to people with an immune disorder for an extra corona jab. The future will then have to show whether such a third injection is sufficient or whether it is necessary to administer the booster regularly – for example annually. If that is the case, it can be very useful if people who are eligible for the flu shot – there are already about six million in the Netherlands – can get both shots at the same time. And so the research by Lazarus and colleagues suggests that that combination is safe and effective.