Melanie Ronda, MSN, RN, host of our weekly IP3 Office Hours gets many questions each week. Here’s one that may resonate with you:
Q: Our nursing home’s medical director has concerns about administering COVID-19 vaccines together with other vaccines. Can you provide us with information and resources?
A: Coadministration of COVID-19 vaccines with other vaccines is safe. COVID-19 vaccines may be given without regard to timing of other vaccines. This includes simultaneous administration of COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines on the same day. If multiple vaccines are given at a single visit, give each injection in a different injection site.
Best practices for multiple injections include:
- Label each syringe with the name and the dosage (amount) of the vaccine, lot number, initials of the preparer, and exact beyond-use time, if applicable.
- Separate injection sites by 1 inch or more, if possible.
- Administer the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccines that may be more likely to cause a local reaction in different limbs, if possible.
According to the CDC, consider when determining coadministration:
- Whether the patient is behind or at risk of becoming behind on recommended vaccines.
- Their risk of vaccine-preventable disease (e.g., during an outbreak or occupational exposures).
- The reactogenicity profile of the vaccines (It is unknown whether reactogenicity of COVID-19 vaccine is increased with coadministration, including with other vaccines known to be more reactogenic, such as adjuvanted vaccines or live vaccines).
For more information:
- See ACIP’s general best practices and Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (Pink Book)
- Visit the CDC for latest guidance on how to Administer the Vaccine(s) and Interim Clinical Considerations on Use of COVID-19 Vaccines in the United States