Health Care Provider Fact Sheet: Addressing Common Concerns About Flu, COVID-19, and RSV Vaccines

It’s normal for patients to have questions and concerns about vaccines. Use this fact sheet to help address common concerns you might hear from your patients about influenza (flu), COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines.

Helpful Tips:

  • Your patients may have inaccurate information about vaccines or feel strongly about them. Listen to their questions and comments with empathy. Validating their emotions helps build connection and trust.
  • Ask open-ended questions to explore how your patients feel. This encourages two-way conversation and helps you understand their concerns.
  • Give your patients a strong recommendation to get vaccinated. Use the talking points below to help your patients understand why you are recommending vaccines and to give them the facts they need to find their own reasons to get vaccinated.
  • Remind patients of the vaccine benefits: Vaccines help them risk less and do more.
Common concerns you might hear from your patients
Common ConcernsTalking Points
Flu vaccines cause the flu.
  • You can’t get the flu from a flu vaccine because flu vaccines either use a dead form of the virus or no virus at all.
  • Some people who are vaccinated still get the flu. Even if you get the flu, being vaccinated helps your symptoms stay milder.
I got a flu vaccine last year. Why do I need one again?
  • Flu viruses change from year to year, so the flu vaccine is updated annually to help target the current strains of flu.
  • You should get a flu vaccine every year so that you’re protected against the latest flu viruses spreading in your community.
I never get the flu, so why should I get the flu vaccine?
  • Some types of flu viruses spread more easily than others, and the most common flu viruses infecting people change each year. Getting vaccinated makes sure you’re more protected from new or changing virus strains.
  • If you do get the flu, there’s no way to predict how bad your symptoms might be. But if you’re vaccinated, your risk of getting severely ill is cut nearly in half.
COVID-19 vaccines cause long-term side effects.
  • Most people have either mild side effects or no side effects at all after getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
  • Like with any medicine, rare but serious reactions to vaccines can happen. Data show that in every one million people who get a vaccine, five or fewer have a severe allergic reaction, depending on which vaccine they get.
  • Some people have been concerned about heart inflammation after a COVID-19 vaccine, but the risk of heart inflammation is higher after getting COVID-19 than after getting the vaccine.
  • The benefits of the vaccines outweigh the risks of COVID-19’s long-term health effects, or Long COVID, which is much more common than serious vaccine side effects.
I already got a COVID-19 vaccine.
  • The COVID-19 virus has changed a lot. The 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccines were updated to target the newest variants.
  • If you’re up to date with the vaccines, you’re more protected from severe illness even if you get COVID-19.
I thought that COVID-19 was over! Why should I keep getting COVID-19 vaccines?
  • COVID-19 is still around and still making people seriously ill, especially if you’re 65 years old or older; pregnant; if you have a health condition such as heart disease, obesity, or asthma; or if you have a weakened immune system. COVID-19 vaccines help protect you from COVID-19’s worst outcomes.
RSV vaccines are too new and haven’t been studied enough.
  • RSV vaccines were proven to work well to protect people from getting really sick from RSV in clinical trials. The most common side effects are a sore arm, lack of energy, and headache, and those symptoms don’t last long. Severe allergic reactions are rare.
  • RSV can be very dangerous for older adults. It can make you have trouble breathing or develop an infection deep in your lungs. The RSV vaccine helps protect you from serious symptoms.
  • The benefits of getting vaccinated outweigh the risks of severe RSV.
  • Infants are also at higher risk for severe RSV disease. Pregnant women can pass protection to their babies for their first 6 months by getting an RSV vaccine during pregnancy.
Can I get more than one of these vaccines at the same time?
  • You can get the flu and COVID-19 vaccines at the same time. If you are eligible for an RSV vaccine, then you can get it at the same time you get either or both flu and COVID-19 vaccines.
  • If you choose to get a flu, COVID-19, and RSV vaccine at different times, then you don’t need to wait a certain amount of time before getting another vaccine.
  • You may have more side effects if you get more than one of these vaccines at the same time, but symptoms will likely be mild and should not last long. Some of the most common side effects are arm pain or swelling, headache, and fatigue.
Content created by Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA)
Content last reviewed