[katieHaylor (OP)]

Robert asks:

Do the vaccines for Covid-19 contain the flu vaccine?

[evan_au]

No. They are entirely different viruses, produced in entirely different factories.
- The current approvals are for COVID-19 only, and only for the original Wuhan variant
- Distribution of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine has been suspended in South Africa as a trial showed it was less effective against the new strain now circulating in South Africa. Note: The trial was very small (around 2,000 young participants), and still showed some efficacy.

Once we have an effective COVID-only vaccine, and most people have been vaccinated (ie perhaps in 2022-2023)...
- It is possible that people might need an annual booster shot to deal with the latest variants of COVID-19, or with an immune response that declines with time
- If so, it may be sensible to combine an influenza and COVID vaccine into a single annual shot
- Johnson & Johnson has been promoting this concept, as their vaccine can be stored at the same temperatures as the flu vaccine.

Many companies have invested a lot of money in a vaccine program. They would like an ongoing revenue stream to pay back some of their huge investment.
- But the timing of this is only a guess for now, as we only have 1 year of experience with this SARS-COV2 virus