Wednesday, April 21, 2021

A Shot of Hope

 Last week, I finally got my first Covid-19 vaccine dose. Although I had some initial difficulty getting an appointment, I was able to get one at a mass vaccination site close to my house. To celebrate, I wore a "Girls in Science" mask and my t-shirt from the March for Science. Once I arrived at the site, it was a very efficient process. It took less than fifteen minutes from the time I entered the building to the moment I received the injection. While I was waiting to make sure I didn't have a reaction, the appointment for my second dose was automatically scheduled exactly three weeks from my first one.

I did have some side effects from the first dose, mostly headaches. The first day was the worst, but I had some slight headaches the next day. I was pretty much back to normal by the second day. Of course, the side effects are supposed to be worse after the second shot, but fortunately my workplace is giving us time off to get the vaccine and recover.

I'm looking forward to being fully vaccinated in a little more than a month. My husband is an essential worker, so he's already fully vaccinated. Hopefully soon at least one of the vaccines will be approved for use in my son's age group. I'll feel more secure once we're all protected, though it will still take me a while before I resume my normal activities.

 Are you planning to get vaccinated, or have you already fully or partially protected? Are you having problems finding an appointment? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

3 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Plan a day off after the second shot - that's the one that will kick you in the butt.
Not planning on getting the shot. (Although I easily could in our state - they have more vaccines now than takers.) Besides, they say it only lasts six to twelve months.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Appointments are wide open here and no problem getting one. I just don't want one. If forced, I'll get the J&J shot. At least it doesn't alter every cell in your body like the other two.

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

Alex, please reconsider. Even six to twelve months of protection is better than none at all. Plus, you'll be protecting other people around you, not just yourself.

Diane, the mRNA used in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines is degraded after it's used to make the virus proteins, so it can't alter your own DNA. Once the Pfizer vaccine is approved for my son's age group, I will not hesitate on getting him vaccinated--that's how confident I am in it.

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