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With the recent approval of a new type of COVID-19 booster (bilvalent), many people wonder if they can save time and get the yearly flu shot and the bivalent booster shot together. For most people, the short answer is yes. Who is eligible for the newly FDA-approved bivalent COVID-19 booster?

Pekosz discusses who should get the bivalent shot and when, whether it’s safe to get it at the same time as the flu shot, and more. What is the bivalent booster? The bivalent booster is the most recent version of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The CDC recommends getting a COVID-19 booster as soon as you're eligible, and it's fine to get both a flu shot and a booster on the same day. A recent CDC study showed that getting a flu shot and an mRNA COVID-19 booster at the same time was associated with an 8%-11% increased chance of side effects , compared to receiving a COVID-19 booster alone.

Updated Sept. 22, 2022, 1:06 p.m. ET Yes. Some public health officials are strongly recommending getting both the flu shot and the new bivalent booster at once — Dr. Ashish Jha, who leads...

Yes, flu vaccines and COVID-19 vaccines can be given at the same visit if you are due for both vaccines. Is it safe to get a flu vaccine and a COVID-19 vaccine at the same time? Studies conducted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic indicate that it is safe to get both a flu vaccine and a COVID-19 vaccine at the same visit.

Abdul-Mutakabbir has heard of patients not getting the bivalent shot because they didn’t know what it was. “Bivalent” boosters, meaning two, are designed to combat the most virulent strains of the omicron subvariants of the coronavirus — BA.4 and BA.5.

“There is no additional need for a booster vaccine if one has already received the bivalent COVID-19 vaccine,” Gonzalo Bearman, MD, chief of infectious diseases for Virginia Commonwealth University Health, told Verywell.

Where can I find a bivalent COVID-19 booster? Once bivalent COVID-19 boosters become available, you should be able to obtain one anywhere you’d normally get a COVID-19 vaccination or flu shot. Will I be able to get the bivalent booster at MD Anderson? We expect to get bivalent boosters soon.