2026 COVID-19 Vaccine

#1

Are you getting the vaccine this year?

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#2

Yep. Tomorrow both my wife and myself are getting the covid and the flu vaccines. FWIW, I have not stopped or modified my rapamycin regimen - still 8mg every Saturday; had a dose this past Sat and will have another this coming Sat. We’ll see.

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#3

I got the Moderna mNEXSPIKE almost 2 weeks ago. Never felt anything!

I am giving it a full two weeks before my next rapa dose.

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#4

Is the ANY legitimate reason not to get it?

I got mine about 3 weeks ago.

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#5

Just got the Covid Moderna and a flu shot. It’ll be interesting to see if there’s any symptomatic rapamycin influence.

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#6

Hell, No but for reasons other than what you might think LOL. I NEVER (and do mean NEVER) get flu, cold, Sars, covid or any virus driven infection. At least that has been the case in last 25 years and as such I see no reason to take it. So, it’s a pass for me as it has been for last 25 years or so.

#7

Interesting. But why do you think most of us here take these vaccines in order not to get the flu, covid etc.? I for one don’t get the flu vaccine because I fear the flu - I have not had the flu since the year 2000 (and even that year, I’m not sure I had the flu specifically - had some kind of bug I got on the airplane). I take the vaccines for the purported pleiotropic benefits vs CV health, dementia, ACM etc. - these might be in dispute, but what is the downside? A few minutes spent at a local pharmacy? For me, it’s worth spending a few minutes for the possible multiple benefits (of which not getting the flu is way, way down the list). But of course, to each their own.

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#8

Definitely not aware of any benefits other than fighting covid/flu infections. Seriously, or is this some kind of joke? The covid/flu vaccine has CV, dementia and ACM benefits? If true, this would be 100% news to me but then again most of medical stuff is news to me anyway.

#9

There are many threads about it, just do a search, here’s a couple:

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#10

COVID shot in two weeks, flu shot in four weeks.

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#11

I’ll be getting the COVID vaccine and flu shot this year. I’m also trying to get the shingles vaccine due to it’s cardio-protective effects, but it’s generally only available to people in my area who are 50+ years old (even if I pay out of pocket). I need a doctor to make an exemption for me and prescribe it.

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#12

Is anyone choosing the MRNA flu vax this year?

Yesterday I asked Claude to make ‘his’ recommendation for me and I’ll share that here:

Traditional, but a specific one: Flublok. Lean, not a lock.

Weakest point of that call: no trial has put the two in the same ring. I’m comparing separate trials, and Flublok’s biggest trial showed its smallest benefit.

The short version

  • Flublok (lab-made protein shot, no eggs) and mFLUSIVA (Moderna’s new mRNA shot) each beat the ordinary egg-grown shot by a similar margin.
  • The mRNA shot hits harder the next day, and that is the tiebreaker.
  • The ordinary egg-grown shot is the one to skip.
  • High-dose and Fluad are licensed for 65+ only, so they’re off your menu.

Catching flu: toss-up

  • mFLUSIVA: 26.6% fewer lab-confirmed flu cases than a standard shot, and 26.1% in ages 50–64. Human trial (randomized), Leroux-Roels, NEJM 2026, 40,703 people. One trial, one season.
  • Flublok: 30% fewer than a standard shot. Human trial (randomized), Dunkle, NEJM 2017, 8,963 adults 50+.
  • Flublok, bigger trial: 15.3% fewer in ages 50–64. Human trial (cluster-randomized), Hsiao, NEJM 2023, about 1.6 million people.
  • Head-to-head: none exists.

Side effects: Flublok better, likely

New shot Standard shot
mFLUSIVA, severe reactions 6.4% 1.0%
mFLUSIVA, fatigue 45% 20%
mFLUSIVA, muscle aches 35% 12%
Flublok, fatigue (ages 50–64) 13% 17%
Flublok, arm pain (ages 50–64) 32% 37%
  • Both rows come from the FDA labels (human trial, randomized). The comparison between them is indirect.
  • Heart inflammation: zero cases in the mRNA trial, and no warning on the label.

Your heart

  • Any flu shot: helps, likely. In people with a recent heart attack, 5.3% vs 7.2% had death, heart attack or stent clot over a year. Human trial (randomized), Fröbert, Circulation 2021.
  • You haven’t had a heart attack, so applying it to you is extrapolation.
  • No type wins on heart outcomes. High-dose did no better than standard (human trial, randomized, Vardeny, JAMA 2021). Neither Flublok nor mRNA has heart data.

What would move the call

  • A rough day doesn’t bother you: then it’s a coin flip, and mRNA is a fair pick.
  • Cost: mFLUSIVA may run $150–180 out of pocket (news report, one source). Coverage is unsettled because the CDC’s vaccine panel hasn’t met since March.
  • Eggs: Flublok has no egg protein; it’s grown in insect cells (FDA label).

Timing: the rapamycin wrinkle

  • From CURRENT: your Repatha 140 mg and rapamycin 16 mg pair is due today or tomorrow.
  • Your rule holds rapamycin one week before and after any vaccine. On a two-week cycle that leaves exactly one legal day: day 7.
  • Pair Thu 10/1 → shot Thu 10/8. Pair Fri 10/2 → shot Fri 10/9.
  • Mid-October costs you nothing. CDC says September or October (guideline). Protection fades about 8–9% a month (human observational, Ferdinands, Clin Infect Dis 2021).
  • The one-week rule is extrapolation. The only trials used a two-week gap and a cousin drug, everolimus (human trial, randomized, Mannick, Sci Transl Med 2014).

Sourcing gaps

  • The NEJM pages for the two Flublok trials were blocked. Those numbers come from the FDA label and Sanofi’s release.
  • The waning figure came from a news summary of the paper.
  • Whether California plans cover mFLUSIVA at no copay: unverified.

Sources:

Your move: Pick the shot, then book it for day 7 after this week’s Repatha 140 mg and rapamycin 16 mg.
Open question: None

#13

Speaking for specifically covid/flu shots and not other vaccines, a lot of people get sick for a day after taking them so the pros to me as a 40 year old aren’t worth feeling like crap for a day. If the evidence strengthens that flu shots have all these other benefits you mentioned, then I will re-think that but for now, I am not going to start getting them. That’s just me though and I respect what anyone decides to do.

#14

Sure, everyone has their reasoning. FWIW, I don’t feel anything as a consequence of the two shots - flu and covid-19 - taken simultaneously… but my wife does feel under the weather for a day or so, in other words, YMMV, your reaction is not guaranteed one way or another.

And personally, I find the evidence for pleiotropic benefits of the flu shot pretty convincing (though obviously it’s not proven). The key for me is the cost/benefit ratio. The cost, to me, is minimal, mostly time spent on booking and getting it, but even if I felt crappy for a day, my calculus is that it’s totally worth the speculative benefits. But it’s all good, to each their own.

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#15

I’m getting the flu vaccine for the possible pleiotropic benefits.

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#16

Got the Moderna Covid booster and the flu shot a week ago. Felt quite bad for about a day afterwards. Hope that is an indication of the strength of my response . . .

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