My Experience with the Covid Vaccine
The following is my own personal experience with the Covid vaccine. For those that don’t know me, I am a 53 year old woman, in the health care field, overweight (technically obese but I hate that term), and relatively healthy.
When Covid first hit and the talk started about getting a vaccine as soon as possible, I initially told myself and everyone else that I planned to “wait a while”and see what happened with the first groups of people and what their reactions would be.
I’ve never had the flu shot, never wanted it. I didn’t trust what was in it. My youngest son came down with Influenza A a few years ago, and I promised myself that I would get the flu shot the next year. I did not do it. Why would I feel any differently about jumping into the unknown waters of the Covid Vaccine?
In January 2021, we received the information that because of my line of work I would be eligible for the Covid vaccine in one of the early groups. Should I take it?
The decision was definitely not made lightly. I researched. Some of what I read scared me a bit. One of my older sons even jokingly asked if I had seen the movie “I Am Legend”. Eeek. Google it if you haven’t seen it and you’ll understand. I also jokingly replied that I guessed if those circumstances happened I may as well be one of the zombies , because I definitely wouldn’t be able to fight them off!
But seriously, I flipped back and forth with my decision. Finally, after witnessing friends and relatives go through the misery of Covid and even experiencing the death of two people that I knew well from this virus, I decided to get the vaccine…not only for me, but others as well.
January 15, 2021…my first dose of the Moderna Vaccine.
I received the shot from our local health department at a larger venue in our small town. The process was simple and well organized. After receiving the vaccine, I was ushered to a waiting area to monitor symptoms for 15 minutes. At the end of the waiting period, I received my vaccine card and scheduled my second dose for February 12, 2021.
My side effects of dose number one:
The day of the injection, I felt fine. My arm was not sore and there were no visible signs of receiving the vaccine. The next morning I woke up and actually forgot that I had even had a shot. As the morning wore on, I did notice that my arm felt a tiny bit sore to the touch and there was a quarter sized area of redness around the injection site. I snapped a picture of it to send to a friend that was on the fence about getting the vaccine, just to show her that it wasn’t bad. This was the total extent of my side effects from dose number one.
February 12, 2021…second dose of Moderna Vaccine. Since I am writing this today, I will update my status as I experience it.
February 12th, 8:15 a.m.
My injection is scheduled this afternoon at 2:00 pm. My thoughts right now? I’m a bit scared. There have been so many times over the past two weeks that I’ve considered saying “I’m good with one shot” and backing out of going today. I’ve heard some stories about some pretty nasty side effects from the second dose of Moderna. I even discussed my concerns with my primary care provider at my appointment earlier this week, but have decided to go through with it.
I’m getting this injection on a Friday, so no worries about working tomorrow. I’m getting stocked up on Tylenol and have already warned my husband that I will probably be in bed all day Saturday (which I plan on doing even if I have NO side effects, heh heh..let’s milk this for all it’s worth).
3:05 pm
I received my second dose a little over an hour ago, and didn’t even feel it going in. After waiting my mandatory fifteen minutes and a quick trip to the grocery store (because we are expecting 7-10 inches of snow and negative degree temps), I’m back home in my pajamas. No side effects yet.
11:45 pm
After almost ten hours, I still feel fine. My arm isn’t tender yet, but after my first dose it wasn’t tender until the following morning. So far, so good.
Day 2
7:00 am
I was expecting my arm to be sore this morning, but it really isn’t. There is a small area of redness around injection site (probably quarter sized again), and it is slightly tender to the touch. I’ve had a few abdominal cramps, as well..but not terrible. Doing fine.
10:00 am
I wouldn’t say I’m sick, but not feeling one hundred percent. It’s more of a “drained” feeling, like I just want to snuggle under the covers and snooze the day away. I might just do that. 😊
2:00 pm
It’s been 24 hours since I received the injection. Arm is a bit sore,still feeling super tired, a bit achy (still some abdominal cramping with accompanying bathroom trips), and just “blah” overall. Not terrible, but definitely won’t be running any marathons today(not that I would anyway, ha).
5:00 pm
Around 3:30, the “fog” began to lift and as of this moment, I feel like myself again. My arm is still tender, but I’m hoping the worst is over.
For me, the experience thankfully wasn’t too bad. My brother and sister-in-law also just had their second dose, but theirs was Pfizer. My brother reports that they had no symptoms except for fatigue. Another couple that I know had their second Moderna shot yesterday and reportedly were sick all day today.
As, I said before..if this vaccine can help protect me or others from the Coronavirus, it’s all worth it.
