Think the COVID-19 Vaccine Isn’t Good Enough? It May Be More Effective Than the Flu Shot

• Though the coronavirus vaccines and flu shots use distinctly different technologies against two unique viruses, they still have the same job of teaching our immune system how to recognize and attack a virus.
• The COVID-19 shots appear to be even more effective at preventing severe disease, along with hospitalization and death.
• Experts suspect the vaccine technologies developed during the pandemic will be used to improve existing vaccines such as the flu shot.

As of Feb. 8, more than 42 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the United States.

The shots are safe, highly effective, and in most cases, cause mild reactions similar to the flu shot.

But, comparing the coronavirus vaccines to the flu shot is like comparing apples to oranges.

For one, the technologies used in the flu and coronavirus shots are significantly different. The viruses also have different attack rates and behavioral patterns.

And though both viruses mutate, the flu virus does so much more frequently, making it difficult to design and distribute a shot that can work perfectly against the leading flu strains each year.

Even so, both sets of shots are proficient at preventing severe illness and death.

Here’s how the COVID-19 shots stack up against the flu shot: