Flu and Covid Vaccines Together: Co-Administration Explained

Autumn is now the busiest vaccine season of the year. Flu, Covid-19, RSV, shingles and pneumococcal vaccines can all fall due at roughly the same time, especially for older adults, and people reasonably want to know whether they can have them together, how far apart they need to be, and whether doubling up makes the side effects worse.

This page explains the current UK guidance on having the flu vaccine at the same time as other vaccines in 2026/27, with a focus on flu and Covid-19. It is part of our complete guide to flu vaccines for 2026/27.

Can you have the flu and Covid vaccines at the same time?

Yes. UK guidance is that inactivated flu vaccines can safely be given at the same time as other vaccines, and that it is generally better to go ahead than to delay protection or risk someone not returning for a second appointment. That explicitly includes Covid-19 vaccines.

The evidence comes partly from a UK randomised trial, ComFluCOV, which gave Covid-19 vaccines at the same time as flu vaccines and found acceptable immune responses and side effects. A study of one protein-based Covid-19 vaccine given with flu vaccine showed a somewhat lower antibody response to the Covid vaccine, but protection against Covid-19 remained high. On that basis, if you have recently had a Covid-19 vaccine you can still have your flu vaccine, and the same applies the other way round.

Who is offered a Covid-19 vaccine on the NHS this winter?

Many more people are eligible for the flu vaccine than for the Covid-19 vaccine. For winter 2026/27, NHS Covid-19 vaccination in Scotland is offered to:

Everyone in these groups is also in the NHS flu programme, so where both are due they are offered at the same appointment. Joint flu and Covid-19 appointments for adults began on 5 October 2026, and the winter Covid-19 programme runs until 31 January 2027. The flu programme covers far more people, and Bruntsfield Pharmacy, which runs this clinic, sets out who qualifies for a free flu jab in Scotland in full.

If you are offered both but would rather have only one, you can simply decline the other at the appointment.

Which Covid-19 vaccines are being used?

For the winter 2026 programme, adults are offered an updated mRNA Covid-19 vaccine targeting a recent variant, with a non-mRNA vaccine available for people for whom mRNA vaccines are not clinically suitable. Children have age-appropriate doses of an updated mRNA vaccine. Covid-19 vaccine is usually given around six months after the previous dose, with a minimum gap of three months.

If you are not eligible for an NHS Covid-19 vaccine but want one, private vaccination is available. Our Covid-19 vaccine page explains the service, and current prices are on our vaccine prices page.

Is it safe to have two vaccines at once?

Yes. Your immune system deals with many foreign proteins every day, and responding to two vaccines at once is well within its capacity. The side effects of co-administered vaccines are expected to match those of each vaccine given alone, so you may notice a sore arm on each side and perhaps a day of tiredness or aches.

Two practical points apply. Each injection goes in a different place, usually one in each arm, or at least 2.5cm apart if both go in the same arm. And where an adjuvanted flu vaccine is given alongside another adjuvanted vaccine, the side effects of both can add together, which is worth knowing if you have a busy day ahead. Our guide to flu jab side effects explains what each vaccine tends to cause.

Flu and RSV vaccines: why older adults usually have them on different days

RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccination is now offered to older adults in Scotland. Some trial data suggest that giving one RSV vaccine at the same time as flu vaccine in older adults may slightly reduce the immune response to the RSV vaccine, and possibly to the H3N2 part of the flu vaccine. The clinical significance is not known, but the guidance is that RSV vaccine should not routinely be scheduled on the same day as flu vaccine for older adults.

There is no minimum gap, so the following day is fine. If someone is unlikely to return, or needs protecting straight away, both can still be given at one visit. Pregnancy is different: where both RSV and flu protection are needed before the baby is born, the two vaccines can be given at the same appointment once 28 weeks of pregnancy is reached.

Flu and shingles vaccines

Shingles and flu vaccines can be given at the same time. When the adjuvanted shingles vaccine was first introduced, a seven-day gap was suggested from the adjuvanted flu vaccine, because two adjuvanted vaccines together might be less well tolerated. Interim data from a US study of the two given together were reassuring, and a flu vaccine appointment is now considered a good opportunity to give shingles vaccine as well.

If you are 50 or over and considering shingles vaccination privately, our shingles vaccine page explains the two-dose course.

Flu with pneumococcal, pertussis and other vaccines

The same principle applies more widely. National guidance lists pneumococcal, Covid-19 and shingles vaccines in older adults, pertussis and RSV vaccines in pregnancy, and HPV, meningococcal ACWY and the teenage booster in school-age children as vaccines commonly given around the same time as flu vaccine, and supports giving them together where appropriate. If vaccines are not given at the same visit, they can be given at any interval.

For the children’s nasal spray, which is a live vaccine, there is also no required gap from other live vaccines. The one interaction to know about is with antiviral flu medicines, which can reduce the effect of the nasal spray, so the spray is delayed until 48 hours after antiviral treatment ends or an injected vaccine is given instead.

Planning your vaccines for the season

Bruntsfield Pharmacy, which runs this clinic, has a detailed guide to flu jab timing this season if timing is your main question. If you are travelling this winter, our travel clinic can plan flu vaccination alongside any travel vaccines.

How to get started

1. Book online. Pick a slot in the booking calendar on this page, or phone the clinic on 0131 563 6824. Say when you book if you want more than one vaccine.
2. Answer a few health questions. We check that each vaccine is suitable today, including any previous reactions, recent vaccines and anything that affects your immune system.
3. Have your vaccines. Where two injections are given, they go into separate sites, usually one in each arm.
4. Leave knowing what to expect. We explain what each vaccine may cause over the next day or two and when to get advice.

Flu and Covid vaccines together: your questions answered

Can I have my flu and Covid jabs on the same day?

Yes. They can be given at the same appointment, usually one in each arm. The NHS in Scotland offers them together to people eligible for both.

Will I get worse side effects if I have both together?

Side effects are expected to be similar to having each vaccine separately, though you may have a sore arm on each side. If both vaccines contain an adjuvant, effects can add together.

I had my Covid vaccine last week. Can I still have my flu jab?

Yes. Flu and Covid-19 vaccines need no spacing, so a week apart is no problem.

Am I eligible for a free Covid vaccine this winter?

Scotland’s NHS Covid-19 offer this winter covers three groups: everyone aged 75 or over, people living in care homes for older adults, and anyone from 6 months old who is immunosuppressed. Outside those groups, the vaccine is available privately.

Can I have the RSV and flu vaccines together?

Older adults normally have them on separate days, because together the response to each may dip a little, though no gap is required. In pregnancy the two can share an appointment from 28 weeks.

Can I have the shingles and flu vaccines together?

Yes. National guidance now treats a flu appointment as a good opportunity to give shingles vaccine too.

I am travelling soon. Can I have flu vaccine with my travel jabs?

In most cases, yes. Inactivated flu vaccine can be given with other vaccines, and any interval is acceptable if they are given separately. We check each vaccine at your appointment.

For the wider picture on flu vaccination this season, see our complete guide to flu vaccines for 2026/27 and our explanation of the different types of flu vaccine.

This page is for general information and does not replace an individual clinical assessment. Vaccines are prescription-only medicines. In an emergency, call 999.

Sources: UKHSA Green Book, chapter 19, Influenza, 25 August 2026 (co-administration); Scottish Government, Winter Programme 2026: Seasonal Flu and COVID-19 Vaccination, SGHD/CMO(2026)18, 21 September 2026; Lazarus R et al., ComFluCOV trial; Summary of Product Characteristics for the cell-based trivalent influenza vaccine (electronic medicines compendium); NHS inform, winter vaccines.