COVID-19 and Flu Shots Provide a Double Dose of Protection – Cedars-Sinai

Enoch Arhinful, MD, a Cedars-Sinai physician specializing in internal medicine, helps patients understand the importance of receiving the COVID-19 updated vaccine by putting it in context.

I explain to them that, like any virus, SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) shifts in its genetic makeup over time, ultimately becoming so different from the initial variant that its difficult for our immune systems to recognize, he said. Imagine having a picture ID of a baby and then, years later, trying to validate that childs identity with the old photo. This new, updated vaccine gives our bodies a current picture of how the virus that causes COVID-19 actually looks today, which allows them to do a better job identifying the virus and fighting it off.

Still, some patients remain resistant to convincing.

With COVID-19, there are patients who, no matter what new evidence comes available, dont seem willing to take up the vaccine, Arhinful said. Some are hesitant because they never got it in the first place, and so they dont have any experience with it. Others may have had a small reaction from the initial vaccine and are worried about that discomfort happening again. However, based on my observation and experience, it appears that the number of people open to the vaccine is steadily increasing.

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COVID-19 and Flu Shots Provide a Double Dose of Protection - Cedars-Sinai