HUNTLEY — In a January public communication from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it was explained that one of their real-time vaccine safety monitoring studies — referred to as the Vaccine Safety Datalink — had picked up a small and uncertain risk of stroke for older adults who received a dose of Pfizer’s bivalent Covid-19 vaccine and a high-dose or adjuvanted flu shot on the same day.
To get further insight on whether older individuals have a reason to worry or not, My Huntley News spoke with Dr. Irfan Hafiz, chief medical officer and infectious disease expert at Northwestern Medicine Huntley, McHenry, and Woodstock Hospitals.
Upon examining the study in more detail, Hafiz explained that the data featured an “extremely small” number of individuals, while also adding that the information obtained was from Medicare claim data and therefore not a large study.
“I think the FDA still wants to do the responsible thing and they put that out there, but honestly, I’m not that concerned about that,” said Hafiz. “I think the risk of getting Covid and the likelihood of stroke after Covid disease is way higher especially as we get into older populations.”
Additionally, Hafiz highly recommends getting vaccinated against Covid and the flu for those who are 55 years of age and older. Individuals who have certain medical conditions such as diabetes, kidney issues, heart disease, and/or are receiving chemotherapy treatments are also encouraged to get vaccinated due to being at higher risk for complications from Covid and the flu, according to Hafiz.
“It is time to get your flu shots. I’m over 55. I’m actually going to be getting mine this week. So, [you want to] get those flu shots done and if you’re in those [high risk] groups, it’s ideal to get those Covid boosters as well,” Hafiz told My Huntley News. “Now you can get them both at the same time and get them over with, however, if someone feels they want to wait a little bit, they can maybe do them a week apart or so. That’s fine, too.”
Hafiz added that while medical professionals don’t expect to see huge spikes in Covid cases as in prior years, he has seen a small number of people come into the hospital with complications from the disease, therefore highlighting the importance of staying current with vaccination boosters.
“Getting those Covid vaccination boosters certainly can reduce that risk of complication, which for me is a far bigger concern than the likelihood of strokes related to someone who’s vaccinated is exceedingly small,” said Hafiz.
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