KFI-AM: Dr. Michael Ben-Aderet on New COVID-19 Vaccines
KFI-AM program Wake Up Call recently interviewed infectious disease specialist Michael Ben-Aderet, MD, associate medical director of Hospital Epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai, about the latest COVID-19 vaccine, which targets the currently circulating FLiRT variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The U.S. experienced a high number of COVID-19 cases this summer, and another surge is expected this winter.
Ben-Aderet told Wake Up Call host Heather Brooker that most people should get the updated vaccine now because they may not have had one since the last vaccine update in fall 2023.
“If you’ve been vaccinated very recently or were recently infected with COVID, there may be some reasons why you would want to delay that shot a little bit,” Ben-Aderet told Brooker, adding that people with medical conditions or other concerns should discuss timing with their doctor.
Ben-Aderet told Brooker it’s safe to get vaccines for COVID-19, the flu and RSV at the same time.
“That’s what I do every year—I get my COVID shot and my flu shot together,” he said. “There’s no interaction between the two vaccines. It’s a very, very different type of virus—it’s actually a different type of vaccine—and so there’s really no medical reason that you would want to delay them.”
Ben-Aderet told Brooker that vaccine reactions, like a sore arm or a fever, are normal immune system responses.
“Nobody likes getting a shot, right?” he said. “And a lot of people do feel bad the next day. But that being said, that’s a heck of a lot better than getting COVID. There’s really no comparing the two.”
Click here to listen to the segment, which begins at 25:15, from KFI-AM.