New advice that COVID-19 vaccination should be separated from administration of influenza vaccine by at least 14 days has added another layer of complexity to the pandemic response for GPs.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) says its advice published on Tuesday is “conservative” and “precautionary” as there’s a lack of data on the subject.

Nevertheless, it was plausible that coadministration of the vaccines could reduce the immune response to one or both of them and might also increase the risk of adverse events, ATAGI said.

Separating administration of the vaccines would also make it easier to track adverse events, the experts said.