Infectious Diseases | Mount Sinai Today

What You Need to Know About COVID-19 Booster Shots Now Available for All Adults

Nov 23, 2021 | COVID-19, Featured, Vaccines, Your Health

In another step to strengthen the public health defense against the COVID-19 pandemic, federal regulators have authorized “booster” shots for all adults.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized a booster dose for the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending booster shots for all adults over age 16. Health experts are encouraging all those eligible to consider getting the booster shot.

New Guidance on COVID-19 Vaccines: In April 2023, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced some major changes for COVID-19 vaccines. Click here to read more about what you need to know.

“The most important thing is to get vaccinated, and get a booster shot” if you over 16, says Waleed Javaid, MD, Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and an expert on infectious diseases. “We at Mount Sinai are closely monitoring reports on various variants including Omicron and Delta. At this time, we encourage everyone to get vaccines and boosters, and continue to wear masks in public and follow guidance provided by the public health officials.”

Update: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has strengthened its recommendation on booster shots to include everyone 16 or older when they are eligible. The CDC is working to learn more about the new Omicron variant. The CDC continues to recommend wearing a mask in public indoor settings in areas where there are high rates of COVID-19, and getting vaccinated and booster shots for those who are eligible. Read more from the CDC

Waleed Javaid, MD

In this Q&A, Dr. Javaid answers other frequently asked questions about COVID-19 booster shots.

When should I get a booster shot?

If you were fully vaccinated with the Pfizer or the Moderna vaccine, you should get the booster at least six months after getting the two vaccine doses. If you received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you should get the booster at least two months after completing the primary vaccination.

What do we know about side effects from the booster shot?

I received my booster, and I had pretty much the same reaction as my second dose. Most of those around me also experienced very similar reactions as their second dose. The short-term side effects include pain in the arm where you got your shot, tiredness, and headache. There is nothing in the literature or in our experience at Mount Sinai to suggest the reaction will be any different from the first and second doses.

Does it matter which booster shot I get?

The most recent recommendation from the FDA and the CDC is that we can use these vaccines interchangeably, and they have not found one is better than the other. Right now, they are considered equal.

What if I got the J&J vaccine?

People who have received a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can get a booster using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, or they can get a Pfizer or Moderna dose as a booster. However, as of Thursday, December 16, the CDC recommends that patients receive an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine over Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine due to the increased effectiveness of mRNA vaccines.

What is the difference between a booster shot and a third dose?

A third shot is considered part of the original series and is considered necessary to provide full protection to a group of people who have reduced ability to fight infections, which includes patients being treated for some cancers or those with an organ transplant. Boosters are shots that have now been authorized for all adults after a certain time period has passed since they were fully vaccinated in order to boost their immune system to ensure they can continue to fight the infection. Right now, a booster shot is not required to be considered fully vaccinated if you are not among the special group specifically recommended for a third shot.

I’ve had COVID-19 and two doses of the vaccine, should I get the booster shot?

People who have had COVID-19 and got two doses of vaccine can certainly get their booster shot. There seem to be questions about this. The data shared by the CDC and other agencies is that getting the booster shot after being infected with COVID-19 offers you additional protection against infection. To all adults, I would say, definitely consider a booster as an option to protect yourself and your loved ones around you. I encourage everybody to reach out to their providers or to Mount Sinai for any advice we can provide.

Get more information about COVID-19 vaccines

How to Safely Gather With Family and Friends This Holiday Season

Nov 16, 2021 | COVID-19, Your Health

As we enter a second pandemic holiday season, many are comforted by the added protection of vaccines and the widespread availability of reliable testing to combat COVID-19. But the unpredictability of the virus means that we should continue to be vigilant.

Update: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on November 26, 2021, said the agency is working to learn more about the new Omicron variant. The CDC continues to recommend wearing a mask in public indoor settings in areas where there are high rates of COVID-19, and getting vaccinated and booster shots for those who are eligible. Read more from the CDC.

Krystina Woods, MD, Hospital Epidemiologist, Medical Director of Infection Prevention, and Deputy Chief Medical Officer at Mount Sinai West, explains why it is safer to gather with family and friends this year and offers advice for how to navigate get-togethers that have a mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated guests.

Is it safe to gather with family this holiday season?

This holiday season is a lot safer compared to last holiday season. We have vaccines, which didn’t become available for most of the public until January 2021, as well as a third dose available for those who are immunocompromised, as well as boosters for the elderly, and those with underlying health conditions or who are at high-risk of contracting COVID-19 due to their occupation. Also adolescents and children, even those as young as five years old, are now eligible for vaccination. The increased availability and eligibility of these vaccines adds an extra layer of protection that we didn’t have last year. You may still become infected, but the vaccines increase the likelihood that your symptoms will be mild and there is a lower chance of serious illness and hospitalization.

We also know more about the virus in general, how to treat it, and what we can do to mitigate its spread. Having learned all this definitely puts us in a better place.

There will be a mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated at my holiday gathering. What precautions should I take to keep myself and my family safe?

To the extent that you can, the best thing you can do for your unvaccinated family members and friends is to try to get them to understand how important the vaccine is and to be an advocate for vaccination. The best gift you can give your loved ones is to make sure that they are protected coming into the holidays.

However, that process takes three to five weeks, depending on which vaccine is used, and it is certainly not going to help you in the moment that someone is walking through the door into your Thanksgiving dinner. If you’re inviting somebody into your home, you have to decide the appropriate level risk to yourself and your family, and whether or not you’re willing to assume the increased risk that comes with having someone who is unvaccinated come into your home.

In a post on how to safely date during a pandemic, Mount Sinai pulmonologist Lina Miyakawa, MD, advised asking potential partners the following risk profile questions. They provide a great start in assessing anyone who enters your home for a holiday get-together.

To assess a guest’s risk profile, you can ask them these questions:

How many contacts do you have on a daily basis?
Do you follow the recommendations to mitigate the risk of exposure, like wearing a mask and practicing social distancing?
Do you work in situations with high exposure risk?

The other tangible precaution you can make is to take the festivities outdoors. We have seen that gathering outdoors presents a significantly lower transmission risk than gathering indoors. Unfortunately, this is not always easy in the New York area especially as the weather gets colder, but it would be helpful. Other options include opening up windows to improve ventilation. There are also some filtration units that can be purchased for homes that help facilitate improved air quality indoors. And then, distancing and asking the unvaccinated individual to wear a mask will also help. What you’re looking to do is layer interventions to decrease the risk.

Should an unvaccinated family member get tested for COVID-19 prior to gathering with family and what about a vaccinated family member?

That’s a difficult question to answer. But, I think if I were in a situation where I was going to have a gathering inside my home and I had an unvaccinated adult coming, I would ask them to produce a negative test. I would not mandate that unvaccinated children be tested, but I would strongly encourage it. We know children can spread COVID to adults. For vaccinated family members, testing isn’t essential. But if you’re having someone older or immunocompromised at your holiday dinner, you may want to ask a vaccinated person to get tested, if they work in a high risk setting. For example, if they work in a hospital, grocery store, or some other essential work that interacts with multiple members of the public.

Often times, we can have a false sense of security around negative test results, so I would caution that I wouldn’t necessarily assume a person who tested negative can’t have coronavirus.

It is important to remember that there is an incubation period of two-14 days with this virus. If, for example, your guest receives a negative test on Tuesday, this result does not tell you what their status will be on Wednesday or Thursday. So, if they attend Thanksgiving dinner and start experiencing COVID-19 symptoms on Friday, everyone who they encountered will likely have been exposed to the virus.

Despite this, it would be good to know that at least when that person is entering your home, they are negative. And if they were to be positive, then they would not come. So there is some benefit in testing.

Is masking and distancing necessary while gathering with family?

I encourage anyone who has not been vaccinated to mask. We know that if an unvaccinated person were to be positive, the mask will help to contain some of their virus by physically containing some droplets.

Also, as far as distancing and masking goes, you have to consider the venue and the mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. If you’re outdoors, the necessity to mask is a lot less—even if you have some unvaccinated guests. If you are indoors, and everyone has been vaccinated and feels well, I don’t feel strongly that you must be masked in that situation.

In short, to make a decision about whether or not you need to distance and mask, think about where the gathering is taking place, the ventilation and air filtration within the space, the risk profile of your guests, and the mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated guests.

How can families maintain safety in the days following a get-together?

I think it’s important to monitor yourself. Not just in the 14-day period following the gathering, but on a daily basis. If you begin to feel unwell, it’s important to stay home and get tested. Because you want to make sure that if you are not feeling well, and if you do end up testing positive, that you haven’t gone on exposing more people than was necessary.

So, just as a general rule of thumb, I think it’s a good thing to check in with how you are feeling. You don’t need to quarantine yourself after gathering with family, but be mindful of how you’re feeling in the days following.

Also, in addition to COVID-19, flu and several other respiratory viruses are starting to circulate. That is only going to ramp up throughout the winter and the holiday season. Many of these illnesses have overlapping symptoms. You should not assume that your sniffles are just a cold, it could be something more. Don’t be overly anxious about it, but if you’re feeling out of the ordinary, consider if you are really well enough to go to work, school, or to socialize.

Is there anything else that people should consider as they gather with family this holiday season?

It is important to stress that vaccines are safe and available for a wide range of the general public, including children as young as five. Everyone who is eligible should be vaccinated. Getting vaccinated will give everyone a level of comfort when they’re visiting family.

There are also a lot of questions around boosters. For people who fall into the categories that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has outlined as who should get boosters, they really should consider getting one coming into the winter season. This is not just to protect themselves as they mix with their family members, but because other viruses are floating around which could adversely affect them. We want to make sure everyone is as healthy as possible.

Mount Sinai Begins Offering COVID-19 Vaccines to Young Children

Nov 12, 2021 | COVID-19, Featured, Vaccines

Soon after receiving the go-ahead from federal and state regulators, Mount Sinai moved quickly last week to begin offering vaccines to children age 5 to 11.

This was a moment that parents—including many in the Mount Sinai community—had been waiting for, a step toward ending the pandemic and moving back toward a more normal life. Vaccines for children age 12 to 15 were authorized in May. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first authorized COVID-19 vaccines for adults in December 2020.

Lower dose Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines were offered at special pods at The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Beth Israel, and Mount Sinai South Nassau used its popular Vaxmobile to deliver shots to children in the neighboring communities.

“COVID-19 has significantly affected our children in so many ways—even those who have not been sick have endured effects on their emotional and mental health, decreased physical activity, the loss of in-person learning and, for some, the loss of parents or other caregivers,” says Vicki R. LoPachin, MD, MBA, Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, Mount Sinai Health System. “But the data show this vaccine to have very high efficacy at reducing infections and producing strong antibody responses, so we are confident it will be effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths in our most vulnerable young ones. We encourage all of you who have children in your families to speak to your child’s health care provider, and schedule vaccination appointments as soon as you can.”

One focus at the outset was offering vaccinations to high-risk and the most vulnerable pediatric patients like Lexi Isler, who was born without a bladder and underwent a series of medical procedures before receiving a kidney transplant from her father, Luther, at Mount Sinai in early 2019.

“This is a great day. Having the vaccine relieves some of the mental stress,” her father said, standing beside his daughter after she received the vaccine. “We always wondered about her compromised immune system, and now we don’t have to worry quite as much with this extra layer of protection.” Lexi said she looks forward to going more places, including those that require vaccination. Immunocompromised people, such as transplant patients or those being treated for some cancers, have a reduced ability to fight infections and are more vulnerable to severe COVID-19.

To make an appointment at Mount Sinai for vaccination for anyone age 5 and older, click here. In addition, check the New York State, New York City, New Jersey, or Connecticut websites for other locations that offer appointments or walk-in vaccination. New York City is also offering in-home vaccinations for all residents 12 and over, as well as mobile vaccination vans

Mount Sinai is very pleased to now be able to offer the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children age 5 to 11, says Lisa M. Satlin, MD, the Herbert H. Lehman Professor of Pediatrics and Chair of the Jack and Lucy Clark Department of Pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Pediatrician-in-Chief of the Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital.

“Clinical studies in more than 2,000 children in this specific age group showed that the vaccine was extremely effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and generated a robust antibody response,” Dr. Satlin says. “It is critical that all children—and especially those disproportionately affected by COVID-19—be vaccinated to not only protect them from the short and long-term effects of infection, but to eliminate the secondary impact of disease on in-person education and other interactions that are critical to growing children’s mental and physical well-being.”

When the Pediatric Vaccine Pod opened on Thursday, November 4, at The Mount Sinai Hospital, staff from the hospital’s Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department were on hand to support the children arriving for this historic opportunity, and they will continue to staff the pods as long as needed.

While the development of a COVID-19 vaccine for children age 5 to 11 brings great excitement and optimism in the fight against COVID-19, for many children getting an injection can be a scary experience. Child Life Specialists work with children and their caregivers to identify coping strategies to mitigate fears and anxieties related to medical experiences such as vaccines.

Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, the provision of popular items such as an iPad or bubbles to help alternate focus, and comfort positioning where a child is securely held in a caregiver’s lap, are some of the ways the child life specialists work alongside the medical team to enhance the patient experience.

Child life specialists and music therapists helped to create a supportive patient and family centered environment. Music therapists used music as a technique for coping during the injection, and also provided live music throughout the space to set a calming tone.

“This is a great opportunity to translate supportive interventions that have been impactful to our patient and families in our inpatient and outpatient environments into a new area of care,” says Licensed Music Therapist Todd O’Connor.

The Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy team makes sure that children leave their visit feeling proud of their accomplishment. The children received a vaccine sticker along with activity books and other fun give-away items that were available for them to use during the vaccine observation period and to take home from their visit.

“We are delighted to partner in this important initiative,” says Child Life Specialist Cheryl Strauss. “We realize that the vaccine is a two-part series, and we aim to help children recognize their strengths and coping abilities for successful return visits.”

Make an appointment at Mount Sinai for vaccination for anyone age 5 and older

Get more information from Mount Sinai about COVID-19 vaccines

Is Your Child Afraid of Getting a Shot From the Doctor? Here’s How to Help Them

Nov 9, 2021 | Children's Health, COVID-19, Featured, Vaccines, Your Health

A trip to the doctor is a common childhood fear. But when kids are afraid of needles, even a simple checkup can cause problems for children and their parents or guardians alike. With the proper preparation and planning, you can help make your next doctor’s visit as smooth as possible, and that’s more important than ever for those getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

In this Q&A, C. Anthoney Lim, MD, the Director of Pediatric Emergency Medicine for the Mount Sinai Health System and the Medical Director of the Pediatric Emergency Department and Pediatric Short Stay Unit at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, explains how you can help calm your child’s fears and ease their anxiety about the doctor’s office and needles. And if needed, how you can talk with your doctor in advance about key issues, including medications that can help reduce the pain. Certified child life specialists and music therapists will also be present at the Mount Sinai vaccination pods to help support children of all ages using play, preparation, distraction and relaxation strategies.

“We have plenty of experience with children who are afraid of injections, so we can work with you and your child to ensure they get immunized in a safe and comfortable manner,” says Dr. Lim, who recently gave his own seven-year-old son the vaccine. “We are creating a very family-friendly space for the COVID-19 vaccine because you will need to bring them back in three weeks for their second shot, so it’s especially important that your child has a positive experience.”

How common is it for kids to be afraid of needles?

It is a very common fear. We see it among children who may have been hospitalized or have chronic illnesses and are in the doctor’s office a lot. But a healthy child without any medical problems is equally prone to needle-phobia.

How can I talk to my child who is afraid of needles?

There are many things you can do to help normalize the process, and it’s important to prepare. A lot of it is knowing your child and if they are at an age that we can talk about their fears. Then, prepare them by having a conversation in advance, letting them know what is going to happen at the doctor’s office and explaining what the process may look like. It can help quite a bit. Not all kids want to talk about it. But they are generally pretty smart, and they will know they are going to the doctor and what they are going for. It’s also worth remembering: Kids will often follow your lead. So if you are prepared and calm, your children will more likely be prepared and calm

Anything more specific?

For younger kids, play can be a really helpful way to prepare for a doctor visit. It provides children the opportunity to approach the event with a sense of control while creating a safe environment to express feelings and to practice coping strategies. One option for younger kids is showing them with their stuffed animal or having them play doctor to get used to what happens when you get your vaccine. For instance, when we were teaching kids how to use masks, we had them make a mask or put a mask on their teddy bear so they can see what it looks like. This is a similar process.

What about bringing something to distract my child?

You can bring a toy to distract them or a doll or plaything they can squeeze really hard. Tablets or smart phones are fine, so make sure your devices are charged. You can bring a cold pack because sometimes that will numb the area a little bit and that is often helpful. There are special cold packs for kids that also include a vibrating tiny bee that can help soothe and distract young children.

Any other techniques?

There are many relaxation strategies that children of all ages can use when feeling anxious and worried. One example is deep breathing—taking deep breaths right before the shot, and then breathing out as the shot is being delivered, can help minimize the discomfort. For younger kids, there are specific positioning techniques you can use, basically a big hug that exposes their arm for the nurse to administer the shot.

What about medications?

Most of the time, approaches that do not involve medications work really well in kids. Prescription medications require a visit or a discussion with your doctor beforehand. There are prescription products, like EMLA or ELA-Max, which are creams that contain a local anesthetic we sometimes use for children for some injections and vaccines. You put the cream on your child’s arm before you go to the doctor’s office because it takes about an hour to kick in. Over-the-counter topical creams are also available.

Is it okay to take over-the-counter pain relievers?

We recommend pain relievers like Motrin or Tylenol but only if your child experiences muscle pain or fevers after they receive the shot, and not beforehand.

How is Mount Sinai helping to make the vaccination process easier for young kids?

At our hospitals, we are setting up special areas for vaccinations for young children. We want to make it a child-friendly, family-friendly environment. We want to make sure that they have a great experience

What should I do if I have more questions?

There are some great resources online, such as from the American Academy of Pediatrics and from the Meg Foundation, an organization that helps families with pain management. A conversation with your pediatrician is very valuable.

Get more information about COVID-19 Vaccination, Appointments and Resources

What You Need to Know About COVID-19 Vaccines for Children Ages 5 to 11

Oct 28, 2021 | Children's Health, COVID-19, Vaccines, Your Health

The moment many parents have been waiting for is approaching: Federal regulators are expected to decide soon whether to authorize COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5 to 11. Vaccines for kids ages 12 to 15 were authorized in May.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first authorized COVID-19 vaccines for adults in December 2020, and the safety and efficacy of vaccines has been widely discussed ever since. But those with young children still have many questions.

In this Q&A, Roberto Posada, MD, a pediatric infectious disease specialist in the Jack and Lucy Clark Department of Pediatrics at Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital and Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases), and Medical Education, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, answers some of the questions most commonly asked of pediatricians and explains why the vaccines are extremely safe and highly effective.

How effective is the new Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11?

The new vaccine is highly effective at protecting children from severe COVID-19 disease. The studies, which included more than 4,000 children, showed children developed essentially the same level of antibodies that result in 90 percent or higher protection in adults.

How safe are they?

The vaccines are extremely safe, the same as with adults. There were minor side effects, such as pain at the site of the injection, fatigue, and headache. Importantly, there were no serious adverse events at all related to the vaccine among the more than 4,000 children that were part of the studies.

What about concerns about rare cases of heart inflammation in young men and boys?

Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart, and a side effect that has been seen very, very rarely, mostly in young adult males. It was not seen in the recent studies of young children; there were no cases, and although the studies were too small to estimate what the rate might be in the general population of children, we expect it to be lower than in adolescents.

Will children experience any side effects from the vaccine? What can I do about that?

It is very likely that children who receive the vaccine, just like adults and older children, will experience pain at the site of the injection or headache. Those are expected to go away within a day or so. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) can be very helpful in managing the symptoms. Parents should follow the guidance of their pediatrician as to how to administer those medications to their children.

If my child had COVID-19, do they still need to get a vaccine?

Anyone who already had COVID-19 should still get the vaccine. That’s because cases of a second COVID-19 infection can happen in people who already had a first infection. The vaccine provides more protection against subsequent infections for people who already had COVID-19.

What are the benefits of vaccinating children ages 5 to 11 against COVID-19?

First of all, vaccinating young children protects them from getting seriously ill from COVID-19. We know that children have a lower risk for developing severe COVID-19 infection compared to adults, but that doesn’t mean they cannot develop severe COVID-19 infection. In fact, as an infectious disease specialist, I have seen children in the intensive care unit with complications of COVID-19. In addition, we know that even if children don’t get very sick themselves from COVID-19, children who have COVID-19 can pass it on to other people—to their parents, their siblings, their grandparents, and to kids and other people at school. So vaccinating children can also protect our community at large, including people that are at higher risk from COVID-related complications.

What if my child is afraid of injections?

It is not uncommon for children to be afraid of injections. Pediatricians have been giving vaccines for decades. Our staff are experienced in working with children who are afraid of injections. They will work with you and your child to make sure your child can get immunized in a safe manner.

Can the vaccine affect the fertility of my child?

It’s a very common misconception that the COVID-19 vaccine can affect fertility. There’s no evidence at all that the COVID-19 vaccine has that effect.

My child is 11 and about to turn 12. Should I wait and get them the adult vaccine?

We recommend that children get vaccinated at the first opportunity. Studies show that children age 11 responded very well to the pediatric formulation of the vaccine.

How do I get more information?

Parents who want to get more information about the COVID-19 vaccine for their children should contact their pediatrician for specific advice.

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, You Should Still Get the Seasonal Flu Shot

Sep 30, 2021 | COVID-19, Your Health

Every fall, doctors, health care providers, and public health experts begin reminding everyone that it’s critical to get the flu shot. This year, as we continue to cope with COVID-19, it’s even more important.

There are a number of reasons why the ongoing pandemic means you should make sure to get your flu shot as soon as possible, according to Waleed Javaid, MD, Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and an expert on infectious diseases.

For starters, if you become infected with COVID-19, getting the influenza virus as well can make a difficult situation even worse. Doctors saw patients in this situation at the beginning of the pandemic, and they know the combination of these two infections can make it more difficult to recover and can exacerbate some of the most serious symptoms, including difficulty breathing.

“COVID-19 and the flu are not a good combination,” Dr. Javaid says.

Fortunately, we have vaccinations for both the flu and COVID-19 that will help prevent you from experiencing the worse of either virus. In fact, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) strongly recommends that you receive the flu shot if you are eligible—even if you are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. And if you have not yet received the COVID-19 vaccine, or are eligible for a booster dose, you do not need to space out dosing, the CDC says you can receive both shots on the same day. The COVID-19 vaccine and the flu shot do have similar, mild side effects, which include fever, body aches, headache, and nausea. So, if you are concerned about side effects, the vaccines can also be taken on different days.

Face masks—which have become a wardrobe staple since the start of the pandemic—may do double duty by helping to reduce the risk of contracting both COVID-19 and the flu. But Dr. Javaid notes that additional measures are still warranted. This includes proper hand hygiene, avoiding those who have a respiratory illness, and getting your flu shot.

The CDC recommends getting a flu shot as early as September or October. But if you miss this window, it is not too late. You can get the shot as long as the flu is circulating, which is normally through early spring.

Another reason reducing the incidence of seasonal flu this year will be especially important is that it can be difficult to distinguish between the flu and COVID-19, according to Dr. Javaid. The symptoms are almost exactly the same: fever and chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, sore throat, and congestion or runny nose. You can read more about these similarities from the CDC. One potential difference is that if you are infected with COVID-19, you may experience a new loss of taste or smell. The similarities could result in confusion as doctors try to diagnose patients.

Of course the flu shot doesn’t guarantee you won’t get the flu. But the CDC estimates the vaccine each year typically reduces serious cases of the flu by 50 to 60 percent. For those who get the flu even though they have gotten the vaccine, the shot helps reduce the severity of the illness and avoid hospitalizations.

For those who may be wondering, there is no evidence that the flu shot can make you more susceptible to getting COVID-19. That being said, if you are infected with COVID-19 or the flu, the timing of your vaccination may need to be adjusted. If you are in this situation, Dr. Javaid says, you should contact your health care provider, who can advise you on the latest recommendations.

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