Temporary fever possible when kids given 2 shots at once

For children under age 2, new research finds that receiving flu and pneumococcal vaccines at the same time may lead to a fever, HealthDay News reported.

The study followed 530 children aged 6 months to 23 months for a week after receiving the two vaccines, either separately or at the same time. Nearly 38 percent of the latter group had a fever of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.

However, researchers said the benefits of the vaccines outweighed the fever risk.

"Parents should be made aware that their child might develop a fever following simultaneous influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations, but that the benefits of these vaccines outweigh the risk of fever and, in most cases, the fever will be brief," study author Dr. Melissa Stockwell, an assistant professor of pediatrics and population and family health at Columbia University, said in a press release.

Stockwell added that, for the small group of children who must avoid fever, these findings provide important information for clinicians and parents.

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