Users describe a range of reactions to combined annual shots, from no issues at all to a full day or weekend of fatigue, arm pain, fever, and body aches, with most recovering quickly. Several note stronger responses than in prior years and contrast the temporary discomfort with past experiences of actual flu or COVID illness. Older participants share memories of polio and measles to frame why they still choose vaccination, while others question the need for COVID shots specifically and point out differences among vaccines.
What this discussion establishesWhether COVID and flu shots belong in the same category as polio or measles vaccines for healthy older adults, and if the risk-benefit still favors getting them
Still openWhy this year's shots produced noticeably stronger reactions for multiple people compared with previous seasons
Nothing here is advice.
I got my seasonal vaccines the day before and it has really knocked me down. Skipping the politics, but anyone getting the latest COVID version might handle it better than I did yet should expect to feel wiped out. I've spent the day drifting in and out of sleep on the sofa.
Same here. My arms were too sore to lift and I spent the whole weekend on the couch with fever, aches, and exhaustion. At least it shows the immune system kicked in.
I normally get mine during the yearly checkup. Good to know ahead of time.
I figured it was only me since I received three shots the same day. A few hours later came crushing tiredness plus stomach trouble, but a long nap got me about eighty percent better and now it's mostly just the usual sore spots on my arms. This batch seems tougher than usual, though still better than catching the actual illnesses.
Not unexpected for me. Every COVID vaccine I've had produced the same response, so I schedule it on a Friday to rest over the weekend and feel fine again by Monday.
The two shots together kept me out of the gym for one day.
I received both flu and COVID shots lately with zero side effects. At my age I've had vaccines since childhood so they seem normal, except the shingles one was rough. Older people may see this differently. It made me recall how scary polio once was, with over fifteen thousand paralysis cases yearly. The oral version brought huge relief and kids lined up for sugar-cube doses. Before measles shots nearly every child got it, sometimes with bad results. Many of us lived through the time these vaccines were new. Recent milestones include polio in 1955 and 1961, measles in 1963, mumps 1967, rubella 1969, chickenpox 1995, hepatitis B 1981, and haemophilus influenzae type b.
One of my older sisters had polio, spent months in the hospital, and ended up with a useless arm. My parents celebrated when the vaccine arrived. I worry younger people lack any direct sense of what these diseases did. Hundreds of thousands were hospitalized in the US last year from COVID alone, so an afternoon in bed seems worth it.
I'm a senior too. This thread shows the issue when officials and people lump every vaccine together. Polio can paralyze and measles can kill, while COVID and flu mostly cause mild breathing symptoms that rarely get worse. At nearly seventy I skip the flu and COVID shots now and my doctor agrees, but I would never skip polio or measles protection. Officials made a mistake by not separating them clearly.
Did anyone actually receive the shot at all?
That number is misleading because CDC includes anyone who tests positive within fourteen days of admission or while in the hospital, whether COVID caused the stay or not. Most cases involve only minor or no symptoms anyway, and testing happens for procedures or entry even without symptoms.
Turning this into politics or personal opinions helps no one. Stick to the medical facts and avoid derailing the thread. Discussions of policies or access are fine if they stay away from parties or politicians.
Measles is returning in the US. I got both shots the same day again this year and only felt a little sore. My husband reacts more so he spaces them two weeks apart.
My uncle in his late eighties had polio as a kid and recovered, but plenty did not. We are fortunate to have these vaccines and I appreciate the science behind them.
This year's pair gave me the strongest reaction yet and I was out for a day. I think the flu shot caused it because the arm that received it hurt badly while the COVID arm showed nothing. Still, one day beats the flu I had decades ago or what my wife went through with COVID. I'll keep getting every vaccine offered, though the shingles one remains the toughest so far.
My sister who had polio later developed post-polio syndrome that returned decades later. Long COVID can do something similar with lasting lung or heart damage. A close friend now has a COVID-related lung condition likely to shorten his life years after the infection. Checking Reddit showed plenty of others saying this year's flu shot hit hard too, so it is not only us here. Must be something different in the current version.
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