With Fall upon us, many people are heading out to their local pharmacy, grocery store, or big box store to get their annual flu shot. Many people will also choose to get a Covid-19 vaccine. Naturally, people want to know whether they should get both shots in the same arm or if they should get one in each arm. In sum, it doesn’t matter, and it is up to you. If you receive both shots in the same arm, it won’t have any effect on either of the vaccines, and they will work just the same as if they had been placed in different arms. I will attach a link below that takes you to the CDC website with their recommendations for how multiple vaccines should be administered at the same time. Whether you get the shots in one arm or two arms, there are certain precautions you should take.
SIRVA or Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration is by far the most common vaccine related injury. SIRVA is the result of human error when a vaccine is placed too high and/or too deep into a person’s arm. As a result, the vaccine misses the person’s deltoid muscle and instead goes into the person’s shoulder. Once the vaccine is in the shoulder, it causes an inflammatory response that can often lead to rotator cuff tears, bursitis, tendon injuries, and adhesive capsulitis also known as “frozen shoulder”. If you choose to get both vaccines in the same arm, make sure the person administering the vaccine takes their time and properly places both needles, so the vaccines go into the deltoid muscle. The proper location of a vaccine should be approximately 2-3 finger lengths below the acromion process, which is the bone near your shoulder blade. I will attach a link below that shows where the needle should be placed. You should also make sure that the person administering the vaccine is on the same level as you when they give the vaccine. You do not want to be sitting while they are standing. This often leads to the person giving the vaccine to come in too high. Also, you should fully remove your arm from your shirt so that your entire arm is exposed when receiving a vaccination. If you can’t do that, lift your sleeve up and over your shoulder blade as opposed to pulling your shirt down from your neck area to expose your arm. You want your deltoid muscle fully exposed to the person administering the vaccination.
Finally, if you do have SIRVA or believe you might have a SIRVA injury, you may be entitled to compensation via a government program funded by the vaccine manufacturers known as the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program of VICP. Please feel free to call or text 773.412.3320 for more information or e-mail dan@sirvainjury.com or you can visit our website http://www.sirvainjury.com We represent individuals nationwide and there is no cost to speak to us about your potential case.
Here is the link to the CDC information on administering two vaccines at once https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/admin/administer-vaccines.html#multiple-injections
Here is information on the proper location of where vaccines should be placed https://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p2020.pdf