Simultaneous vaccination for influenza and COVID-19 will potentially be a relief to the health system and to patients during a pandemic. In order to control the safety and efficacy of co-administration of an influenza vaccine and a COVID-19 vaccine (ChAdOx1 or BNT162b2), a multicenter, randomized, phase 4 study in adults receiving the second dose of COVID with either a placebo vaccine or placebo and three weeks later to get the flu vaccine if they took placebo or vice versa, and the results were published in the international journal The Lancet.
The Doctors of the Therapeutic Clinic of the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Theodora Psaltopoulou, Panos Malandrakis, Giannis Danasis and Thanos Dimopoulos (Rector of EKPA) summarize the relevant publication. The primary endpoint of the study was a systemic response up to 7 days after vaccination and the antibody response of the participants was also evaluated. A total of 679 people were included, of whom 340 received the two vaccines simultaneously and 339 consecutively with a 21-day difference.
In different subgroups receiving three different influenza vaccines together with the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine, the non-inferiority of concomitant administration compared to 21-day vacancy was confirmed in 4 of the 6 different vaccine combinations, and in the other two non-inferiority did not meet the statistical criteria established in the design of the study.
Immune responses were not affected by concomitant infusion and most reactions were mild to moderate. A serious side effect was described, hospitalization due to headache. In conclusion, co-administration has been shown to be safe and effective in this group of patients and could potentially ease the health system next winter.
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