Flu Shots at BMC

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Keep Yourself and Your Loved Ones Healthy with a Flu Vaccine

Boston Medical Center is committed to helping you and your loved ones stay healthy. We continue to take steps to protect the health and safety of our patients, visitors, and staff, and are here to provide care and services you need.

Flu season has started, and getting your flu shot this year is more important than ever. Getting a flu vaccine can help prevent the flu, and can help prevent serious illness if you do get the flu.

All patients six months and older should get the flu vaccine. It is particularly important for pregnant women, people with chronic medical conditions, and children because they are high risk of having serious flu-related complications.

How to Get a Flu Vaccination

Please call your primary care provider's office or your child's pediatrician to schedule an appointment for a vaccination. Same-day appointments are available. Flu shots are also available during all regularly scheduled clinic appointments.

Adult Primary Care

Flu shots are available at the following times. Walk-ins are available but please make an appointment if possible. Call 617-414-5951 for appointments.

  • Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
  • Wednesday: 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.
  • Friday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Family Medicine

Appointments are preferred, but walk-ins are available. Call 617-414-2080 for appointments.

  • Monday through Thursday: 5 – 7 p.m.
  • Saturday: 8:30 – 10 a.m., twice a month

Pediatrics

Call 617-414-5946 to schedule a flu shot appointment.

  • Monday through Thursday: 5 – 6 p.m.
  • Saturday: 9 – 11 a.m.

Geriatrics

Flu shots are by appointment only. Call 617-414-4639 to schedule.

Infectious Diseases

Walk-ins and appointments are available. Call 617-414-4290 for appointments

  • Monday through Friday: 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Flu shots are also available at pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens.

The Flu and COVID-19

While the flu shot can’t prevent COVID-19, it can help you stay generally healthy. It would also be possible to get the flu and COVID-19 at the same time, which could be very dangerous, especially for high-risk people like pregnant people or older people. Since the flu shot decreases your chance of getting the flu, it decreases your risk of getting both illnesses at once. And the more people who get the flu vaccine, the fewer people who get the flu. That means the health care system is better able to care for people with COVID-19.

Can I get a COVID-19 vaccine and a flu vaccine at the same time?

Yes, you can get a COVID-19 vaccine and a flu shot at the same time.

You might have heard that you need to wait 14 days after getting another vaccine to get a COVID-19 vaccine, or 14 days after getting a COVID-19 vaccine to get another vaccine. But medical experts and researchers now say you can get them at the same time.

Your doctor’s office can give you the COVID-19 vaccine and flu vaccine at the same time.

Is it safe for me to come to BMC to get a flu shot?

Yes. BMC has taken many steps to make sure our hospital is safe for patients and visitors. You can learn more about what we’re doing to keep you safe here.

Please note that everyone has to wear a surgical mask while in BMC buildings.

I’ve been wearing a mask and practicing physical distancing because of COVID-19. Do I still need a flu shot?

While masks, physical distancing, and washing your hands are great ways to protect yourself from both COVID-19 and the flu, we know that vaccines are the best way to protect yourself from both illnesses. The flu vaccine is another layer of protection against both getting sick and having serious complications if you do get the flu.

Getting a flu vaccine also helps protect people around you – like children under six months old – who may not be able to get the flu vaccine or may be more likely to get seriously sick.

Are flu vaccines and COVID-19 vaccines the same kind of vaccine?

No, the flu vaccine and COVID-19 vaccines use different methods to protect you. All these types of vaccine are safe and effective.

A flu vaccine uses an inactivated form of the flu virus to tell your body to make antibodies that will protect you from getting sick if you get exposed to the flu virus again.

The Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines are mRNA vaccines, which tell your body to make a protein that then produces antibodies. These antibodies help protect you from the virus that causes COVID-19. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine uses a virus vector, different from the COVID-19 virus, that cannot replicate in the human body. The virus vector delivers a protein code that tells your immune system to make antibodies, which then protect you from COVID-19.

Should I get the flu vaccine if I’ve had COVID-19?

Yes. As long as you are not currently quarantining due to a COVID-19 diagnosis or exposure, you should get the flu shot.

If you currently have COVID-19 symptoms or have been diagnosed with COVID-19 within the last two weeks, please do not come in to get your flu shot. Call your doctor’s office to schedule a future appointment instead.