Covid and flu jabs

[PickleballWetheral]

covid and flu injections. I am due to have both but am worried about side effects while on steroids. Should I just do it for my own protection.

[Koalajane]

it is up to you but I would certainly have them. I had my Covid jab just over a week ago and 4 days later my flu jab. I had no problems with them

[PMRpro Ambassador]

"Should I just do it for my own protection"

Absolutely - why should steroids be a problem in terms of side effects? You need vaccinations even more when on pred as you are possibly more likely to catch them anyway but it is expected that flu this year could be worse than usual - because we haven't faced it since before Covid.

Personally I'm not enthused by the idea of both on the same day but I will certainly be queuing for mine when they are due. On separate days.

But it isn't just for your own protection - one of the big problems with older patients getting flu is the effects on the respiratory system. Same still with Covid, the numbers for which are shooting up everywhere at present. The prospect of large numbers of patients of either is bad enough - both together is likely to overwhelm healthcare services. It is up to us all to do our bid to reduce the risk of severe cases of either.

[Elispeth]

Hi PickleballWetheral. Nobody can make this decision for you. Have you ever had a bad reaction to a vaccination before you went on steroids?

I have had PMR since 2017 and have been on steroids since that time. I have never missed having my flu jab. I have also just had my fourth covid vaccination. I didnt have any adverse reaction to any of them. I had a bad respiratory virus in July this year followed by covid for the first time. I felt really ill with both and made the decision to have these last two vaccinations because of those experiences.

[PickleballWetheral in reply to Elispeth]

Thank you for your reply. I understand what you are saying, but sometimes I don’t think the mixtures of medicine is taken into account and to bad if you react. Thanks again

[123-go]

I've separated the two vaccines by leaving two weeks in between. Others have had them together. If I had no choice I would, of course, have them together and I haven't read or heard of this being unsafe: just my personal preference. That's not much help to you, is it? 😀

[Bcol]

Hi there, I had both my 5th Covid jab the Moderna, Spikevax Bivelent one and the flu jab last Saturday (1st Oct) . Slight tenderness and soreness the following day for the Covid one and no reaction to the flu one. Would certainly recommend you have them done, if not together which was fine for me, then with a gap between.

[Ridge]

I’m getting mine today! Very nervous as I have only just calmed things down from a rollercoaster ride of pain and confusion between PMR and ai. I should have joined this forum years ago!! I think getting flue would be far worse than the reaction to the vaccine, if any!! I shall look for a Covid vaccine in a fortnight.

As PMRpro says, we should do our best to stay out of hospital and keep the pressure off a very broken NHS