One reason I shared about my COVID-19 experience yesterday was to set-up today’s post, in which I share about my vaccination experience.
My COVID-19 Vaccination Experience
On Tuesday, I received received my first jab. In this post, I want to take about how I got it and my reaction to it.
First, I want to express gratitude to scientists from around the world who labored around the clock to produce multiple effective vaccines in record time. This is a testament to human ingenuity and determination.
How I Got The COVID-19 Vaccine
You may ask how a (relatively) healthy 30-something got the vaccine when so many more eligible people are waiting. One thing I have not shared on this blog (and may offer another potential explanation of how I contracted COVID-19…) is that my wife Heidi is a frontline worker.
Although she already has degrees from Germany, she is completing her nursing studies in California and is serving as a student nurse at an area hospital. She works in COVID-19 units, ICU, and other parts of the hospital (depending upon the day) and I cannot be more proud of her.
Well, her hospital has made it a policy to vaccinate the spouses of all workers. That means me.
So on Tuesday, my father (in his 80s), uncle (in his 90s) and I went to the hospital and received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
I’m sorry I don’t have a picture of me getting jabbed, but the mass vaccinations were taking place in the hospital cafeteria and it would have compromised the privacy of others to include a picture.
My Side Effects To the Vaccine
Some guidelines suggest waiting six months since you have had COVID-19 before getting jabbed. I asked my doctor if I should wait and he said, “No way. Get it as soon as you can.”
While the poke itself was painless, by the end of the day the injection point was extremely sore. I also developed a fairly bad headache and experienced fatigue.
But it was the next day that was really bad. I woke up with intense pain in my shoulder at the injection point, nausea, fatigue, and a splitting headache. My wife was at the hospital so I had to take my son to school. I’m not a diabetic, but stopped at the bakery to pick up a sugary almond croissant after dropping him off, feeling like my body needed sugar.
That helped a little bit, but I was still feeling pretty bad. I popped two Advil and went back to bed. A couple hours later I woke up and was feeling a bit better. The nausea was gone.
I had lunch and then went back to bed. When I woke up in the late afternoon, I was feeling good again. The pain, fatigue, and headache were all gone.
Maybe an epidemiologist can explain why I had far worse symptoms than my father and uncle? Was it because I’ve already had COVID-19?
By the way, my father had a headache and pain the first day/night, but was fine the next day. My uncle had no side effects beyond pain at the injection point.
CONCLUSION
My second dose is in three weeks. I do plan to get it, even if I already have plenty of antibodies.
I view mass vaccinations as one key to re-opening travel. Get jabbed as soon as you can, but prepare for potential side effects. I trust they will be worthwhile and that the Pfizer jab will be effective against new variants of the virus.
Most of all, I am thankful my father and uncle have now been vaccinated and managed to avoid COVID-19 thus far during the pandemic. We will all remain vigilant, but this extra layer of protection is itself an exercise of vigilance.
I’m curious how reactogenic your 2nd Pfizer dose will be as you’ve already had Covid. I got my 2nd Pfizer dose at the beginning of January and needed a few doses of Tylenol to get through the 24 hours post-jab. Had never had a positive PCR or antibody test.
Can say that the discomfort of the vaccine is likely magnitudes better than the real thing.
While I am happy that you received the vaccine, something in me finds it wrong that other very elderly folk have to wait behind a healthy 30- something before they can receive it
That’s a totally fair reaction. In fact, my mother has not received it yet. I asked if she could go in my place and was told NO…I either get it or no one does.
And yet in NJ, I was offered the vax when bringing my parents to get it. “While you’re here, sir, would you like it as well?” Unmmmm YES PLZZZZZ
Similarlya co worker got her vaccine as well that way when bringing her mother. Totally legit and no need for any “line jumping guilt”.
Agreed, almost seems irresponsible for people to step up and get it when others need it more… kind of like just staying seated on a bus or subway when a grandma gets on board holding two grocery bags and has to stand…. guess this is what the people preaching to wear masks and other stuff are really like.
If you live with a healthcare worker the rationale is that you will more likely be exposed and pass it on as an asymptomatic person.
Y’all need to get over these “grievances” the supply will soon pick up.
Congrats on getting it!! I was vaccinated extremely early in the Pfizer trial (the beginning of August), and was pretty sick after both shots, with the second being far worse than the first. It’s given me some peace of mind through this last phase of the pandemic. It’s definite progress. Stay safe!
Now it looks like all idiots gonna shame you for getting it before others.
They may get mine , I’m not taking it untill it’s 100% necessary to travel.
So far I flew and gonna fly wherever I can.
If they gonna make it mandatory to travel me and my wife will be happy to take it.
Good much with second dose!
Please share your experience after that as well!
“Was it because I’ve already had COVID-19?”
Short answer, very likely yes.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/02/second-vaccine-side-effects/617892/
You already have antibodies and memory cells to fight covid because you had it. So you had an effect more like many people who got their second shots.
Congrats! I am so happy to read every vaccination story. I want them all to keep me in a good place until they are available to the wider public.
To add to this, there is evidence that the first dose in people who’ve already had COVID essentially acts like the second dose in uninflected people:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/01/health/have-you-had-covid-19-coronavirus.html
If this pans out we could save a bunch of vaccine doses, but there’s not enough evidence yet. For now I’d still get the second dose as scheduled, but you’re certainly not alone in this.
Thanks- missed that article. I was actually going to post my personal conjecture that people like Matthew likely might be able to not have to get the second shot- with the understanding that of course he should unless directed otherwise by the appropriate vaccination authorities.
This is actually being discussed a lot. I don’t have any direct links but a number of scientists on the programs I listen to have discussed that this may be one area to conserve the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for now and is being studied more. Will be interesting to see.
I will defer to the advice of my doctor and will be happy to step aside and forgo the second jab if so advised.
If you tested positive for COVID at one point, you likely showed symptoms because your body already had antibodies ready to go. It’s actually a good thing that you had symptoms; it means that your immune system is doing what it’s supposed to do.
I had my second Pfizer dose on Monday morning. Was fine until the evening and then had chills and muscle aches that got progressively worse into the night. However, by Tuesday afternoon I was pretty much back to normal. My arm still hurts a little at the injection site, but each day less and less.
Congratulations on receiving the vaccine. While I understand why you received it, I am still very discouraged about the entire process. I have been trying constantly for over a month for a friend who is over 80 with some health issues (friend has trouble with the internet). I’ m also a senior (albeit only 70) so in theory eligible for the past week in my state, but the process is just impossible in my area. I dedicate at least three hours a day since my friend became eligible. The websites for the vaccines are confusing and you wait in queues for 10 / 15 minutes to learn no vaccine is available or the system crashes.
Thank your wife for her service. I have had two friends die of this plague and understand how challenging working in a hospital can be, particularly for the past year.
Regards, Cynthia
PS. Pre-pandemic I flew about once a month and was approaching one million miles on American Airlines. Now, I go no where except medical, gas for the car, etc. It has been a long year
Hi Cynthia, I wish you all the best and hope you can secure the vaccine soon. Let me know if I can help in any way.
Exactly this… sad that so many healthy 30 year olds are hopping up instead of offering their seat on the “bus” to the people that actually could benefit.
Did you read what I wrote? You cannot just give up your seat on the bus. It’s like an upgrade. You either take it or they move to the next person on the list. You don’t have ownership rights to assign it to others. So don’t even think about pillorying me for getting the vaccination. If I was in charge, my mother would have been vaccinated instead of me.
Yep see above, people really need to put aside these grievances. The US will soon have enough doses for everyone, unlike many other countries.
We don’t need to go hunger games on each other.
The problem is that you’ve recently thrown your privilege in our faces with your “I’m moving to Germany maybe for good”, then back what? The next week? And your trip to watch the Inauguration from a hotel? It seems shameful that someone clearly not doing their part to limit travel/exposure gets a vaccine before countless senior citizens who are actually at risk and have been cooped up for a year. While I understand why you would take it if offered, you should be tremendously embarrassed to have basically jumped the line and probably shouldn’t post about it. And spare me with the spouse of a nursing student bit – these rules of vaccinating family members are just ways of looking out for the interests of those at the hospital making these decisions. I’m sure their own family members were vaccinated too, thanks to this manipulation of the rules. By all means, please use your vaccinated status to now resume flying around the world for pleasure. Though I’m sure you knew you would provoke a reaction, and the number of comments on this thread again suggests you did it for the page views
@MaKr. Perhaps be mad at the system. Not the people who luck out given the insanity and lack of proper planning the last year? A lot of us are getting it NOT because we game it, but because we are in the right place at the right time. It’s happening everywhere. Blame the system that seniors are having trouble finding it. However, every senior I know that WORKED to find a place, that kept at it every day with trying to get an appointment online and over the phone, got one in a few days. No, it shouldn’t be that difficult. But if vaccines are going to go to waste or go into some other person’s arm that is the same as you if you refuse, what would you expect?
@Stuart… As I said, I understand why he took it when offered. And ur right, the system is broken. My point was Matthew’s selfish recent behavior makes it seem a little distasteful to publicly post about receiving the vaccine when many more deserving others have struggled thru the system to try and get it. It reflects how clueless he is regarding his personal privilege and for someone so upfront about his faith, is quite un-Christlike.
I see your point to an extent. In my own world I am telling no one other than close friends – and certainly not making it public in my business community until more can get it. For just the reasons you say. The WaPo even had an article earlier this week that Vaccine Envy is becoming a real thing. However, in Matthew’s case, there is some legitimacy given his Blog to write about it and initiate discussion. I am sure many are interested in his experience, especially related to someone who had Covid and now the vaccine. So, from that respect, I can understand his writing about it.
@MaKr: I’m sorry you view my actions as irresponsible. I’m not going to offer a twisted defense, but I did not seek the vaccine…it sought me out. My wife called me and told me. Her boss was on the phone. I asked if my mother could have it instead. No, just spouses/partners/adult children living in the same house. So I took it. The same reason that I put my son in a private school while all public schools are closed for in-person learning. Not because we are trying to game the system, but because we are trying to work within the system to our advantage, something I would begrudge no one for doing.
You are a regular reader to the blog and I think you can read between the lines on some of my musings. My import/export business failed in 2020 due to a host of matters beyond my control. My award consulting business was dead for almost a year and is still incredibly slow. Yes, I could seek out other jobs, but being a “stay-at-home” dad has allowed me to support my wife completing her education and working, something she has wanted to do for years.
And that leaves this blog. It was never meant to be a primary source of income, but that’s what it has become (and the blog has also suffered greatly during the pandemic). So when I go on trips and write about them, it isn’t to put my white privilege on display; it is to survive as best I know how to do right now.
Thank you for reading.
Matthew… Fair enough. Some of ur postings annoy the *! #$& out of me, but I come back bc a) ur content is generally good and b) you are so relatable and an open-book. I promise not to get annoyed by posts that run up the page views. Please be careful out there, and encourage others to do the same at all times. This virus isn’t taking any breaks and we can’t either
I won’t blame you for getting annoyed once in a while!
@Matthew – I wish you just said that when people criticized your travels and such. That’s a much better argument, in my opinion, than what you wrote in previous comments. (I still don’t get why Kyle’s despicable post about flying through coronavirus hot spots for fun is allowed to stay up, but I don’t think I’ll ever understand that.)
People can certainly empathize with needing to provide for your family when one business fails, much less two. Honestly, I’ve found that people often respond well to others when they show vulnerability, as evidenced here.
Ich bedanke Ihre Frau und eigentlich Ihre ganze Familie, denn die Arbeiter im Gesundheitswesen und ihre Familien sind unsere Heroen.
It seems like someone else is also using the pseudonym “A” and is against taking the vaccine; to avoid confusion, I am not that person!
Im in my 30s too and got my pfizer second dose on Wednesday. Arm was a little sore, feels ok today. That was it first dose was the same.
My wife got her first dose last week and it tore her up. She was nauseous for 24 hours, like couldnt get out of bed.
In response to you question why you had more side effects than your father and uncle: just as older individuals’ weaker immune systems leave them more susceptible to getting infected with COVID-19, their immune systems likewise react less to the vaccination. Healthy adults in their 20’s and 30’s will be much more likely to experience more side effects than older adults.
That explains why my 76-year-old mother in Los Angeles hasn’t been able to score an appointment. They’re too busy vaccinating already infected 30-year-olds.
Bob, with respect you’re not trying hard enough. I’ve helped many people get same-day appointments at Dodger Stadium. They are readily available. Be a good son.
https://carbonhealth.com/covid-19-vaccines
I’m a great son, a-hole. But her driving herself to Dodger Stadium from her neighborhood is a non-starter and I can’t just materialize from Northern California to take her to a same day appointment. In the meantime I need to be at home with my children while my wife works in the ICU– in a county that doesn’t put spouses in Tier 1.
No offense intended…Shalom Bob.
None taken, then. I’m pretty frustrated about the vaccine rollout in general. And I say that as somebody way higher in the priority list than I should be (Tier 1b as a college professor). But previously infected individuals should be the absolute last priority. Carry on.
@Bob: Welcome to California. You voted there. You like there. So, don’t complain. As Matthew said, vaccine won’t come to your home. Go find it.
Nope, I haven’t voted here since 2002. And since when does living somewhere disqualify one from complaining about it or its policies? Would you have told MLK Jr to leave the US if he had such a problem with it?
@bob if you don’t vote you shouldn’t complain. You sre giving up your choice to help select a representative who you think can do better
Bob, can you not pay for a Lyft, Uber, or taxi for her, though?
You think a Lyft/Uber or taxi, with an unknown driver taking unknown precautions, is a safe transport option in this pandemic for an elderly person?
With an N95 mask, a face shield and an open window to get a vaccine? I wouldn’t hesitate sending my parents that way.
The queues are sometimes 4 hours at Dodger Stadium, so I hardly think Uber/Lyft is feasible. With all due respect, perhaps do some homework before being an armchair CEO; I’m sure the person whose mom is elderly thought of Uber already.
“So on Tuesday, my father (in his 80s), uncle (in his 90s) and me went ….”
How about checking this sentence?
My mother got her second shot on Wednesday. The first, nada as far as problems. She was laid up pretty good by the second one, though. Got her shot around noon, started feeling really bad (chills, headache, fatigue) around 9 pm. Luckily it didn’t last long and she was fine within 24 hours. The process itself wasn’t bad at all. Getting an appointment for the first shot took some effort, but once you have one, it’s super easy. Both my mom and wife walked right in and were done in half an hour – no standing in lines, no idling the car for 2 hours, no BS.
Still waiting for my wife’s second dose, but hopefully soon. I expect I’ll be waiting several more months, which is absolutely fine. I’m just glad the vulnerable in my household were able to get theirs in a timely fashion.
when u get the follow up please let us know the details. Thanks for being a test volunteer.
Lol. A test volunteer? More like a queue jumper
People are giving you a hard time about cutting the line but this is the system we have. Dog eat dog capitalism.
I am very happy the system is working. For the others still waiting for their vaccines, hope you stay alive till your chance to get one. Especially you republican f***s that have no problem voting against people’s health care, hope you stay alive, or not. Our thoughts and prayers always with you. Nothing more.
Same old Debit. Through it all some things never change,
“Dog eat dog capitalism”=when the government nationalizes the vaccine effort, forbids private companies from selling or distributing vaccines through private entities, and rations them based upon the government’s own arbitrary priorities without any possibility of purchasing one on the open market at any price. Reminds me much more of how the Soviet Union distributed sausage than anything to do with Capitalism. To each according to his needs, etc.
I received the call today about my vaccination appointment for Thursday, I’m 66 and looking forward to the extra protection.
It will be interesting to see my body’s reaction. It’s strange to root for some soreness, fatigue, headaches, etc., but I guess I am. I hear there is often a stronger reaction to the 2nd shot, although your case may be different since your 1st shot may be more like a 2nd shot.
My mother (74) had no reaction to the first, but got waylaid pretty good by the second. Chills/headache/severe fatigue but it was over in 24 hours. She’s fine and back to normal today. Hopefully your experience is similar to hers, or better.
That’s good that you weren’t one of the ones affected by death or permanent disability from the vaccine.
https://www.medalerts.org/vaersdb/findfield.php?TABLE=ON&GROUP1=CAT&EVENTS=ON&VAX=COVID19
Or you could check your source: The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), founded under the name Dissatisifed Parents Together (DPT) in 1982, is an American 501(c)(3)[1] organization that has been widely criticized as a leading source of fearmongering and misinformation about vaccines.[2][3][4] While NVIC describes itself as the “oldest and largest consumer led organization advocating for the institution of vaccine safety and informed consent protections”,[5] it promotes false and misleading information including the discredited claim that vaccines cause autism,[6][7][8] and its campaigns portray vaccination as risky, encouraging people to consider “alternatives.”[9]
Not sure how any of that matters here: the data from the reports on medalerts.org is directly from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. Meaning each death or disability or whatever is linked directly to VAERS – where you can all of the patient information and details. So I guess what you are saying is that those affected by death or permanent disability don’t matter to you. One death from COVID is too many, but one death from the vaccine is fine. Got it.
It matters. And Carl is correct. They are called facts. Over 30M have been vaccinated in this country so far and given the attention paid to every single damn second of it you can be assured that if there were any widespread dangers (of which Covid itself most certainly is) it would have long been exposed. By legitimate sources. Not by snake oil salesman who linger in the fringes with their own set of opportunistic approaches like offering “alternative medications.”
No Stuart, you’ve paid attention to your ideology.
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2021-01/06-COVID-Shimabukuro.pdf
Ok? And? A list of the standard post vaccine symptoms? Show me the death and mayhem from vaccines you describe? Or, maybe, your “ideology” is such that you only see through the lenses of QAnon and fringe groups of anti-vaxxers.
Let me guess, you hate masks as well.
I am not part of any fringe groups, Stuart. The deaths are listed in the data. Your ignorance is glaring. Until something happens to you or someone you know, you won’t care. So sad that Americans don’t care until they are personally impacted.
Yeah VAERS has car crashes , accidental falls etc linked to vaccines. It isn’t the source of truth you claim it is.
It lists deaths from motor vehicle accidents as vaccine-related deaths? That sounds quite like the convention of calling any type of death within four weeks of a positive test as “death with COVID,” be it from a motor vehicle incident or a fall. In any case, the ill effects of the vaccine are likely far, far smaller than not vaccinating at large scale. And as for all the people who insist that vaccination doesn’t prevent spreading the virus, why are you so eager to get vaccinated? That sounds downright selfish if it is only going to protect you from illness and no one else. Do you also wear N95 masks with breathing vents?
Medalerts also adds to the data. Look at the differences between the CDC WONDER data and that on Medalerts. Medalerts adds symptoms that the CDC does not have.
Please provide an HHS link (or CDC or FDA) that has matching summary data of the VAERS reporting, I could not find any. Since HHS collects the reports that might have more credibility,
VAERS is run by the CDC and HHS:
Established in 1990, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is a national early warning system to detect possible safety problems in U.S.-licensed vaccines. VAERS is co-managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
https://vaers.hhs.gov/about.html
I am totally aware of the VAERS connection with HHS, etc. and said the same in my prior reply. Where is the matching summary on a reliable link of HHS, CDC, FDA, etc.? It’s not on the page you give the link for. The Nation Vaccine Information Center has shown a propensity for false data representation. In reviews the works “quackery”, “pseudo-science”, etc come up a lot. I would not trust anything from them without seeing it from reliable sources.
The data is in VAERS. Go into VAERS and look at the data yourself. Sort by COVID19 vaccine, and then sort by deaths. It’s public information that is available to you at your fingertips. Why should others do your research for you?
However, seeing that you are unable to do that, a simple Google search turns up this 56 page CDC PowerPoint from January 27th of this year:
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2021-01/06-COVID-Shimabukuro.pdf
A search for the word “death” comes up 58 times in the 56 pages.
You’re still posting?
https://liveandletsfly.com/airline-pandemic-survival/#comment-216842
Ah, congrats, my stalker. It is so nice to have a stalker.
In the link did you miss the conclusion: “Findings suggest that short term mortality rates appear unrelated to vaccination for COVID-19 in skilled nursing facility residents.” Did you actually look at it?
I’ll spend no further time on replies, as you have fully imbibed on the Kool-aid. If anybody else still believes what you’re saying is true they can choose to skip the vaccine.
I’ll def skip the vaccine. Until happens something happens to you or someone close to you, you don’t care. I’ll never understand that mindset. Ever. Why risk it? The data clearly shows people are dying and having things like PERMANENT DISABILITY reported. Why risk it? I’ll never understand that kind of thinking.
And down the road, like all new medications that turn out to have side effects, there will be class action lawsuits in the future.
Oh except the vaccine manufacturers are not liable, so I guess there won’t be.
Thanks for the link to the CDC powerpoint A, I read it. It does not say anything like what you are declaring. Not even close, and you know that.
Ah. Here is a pro disease sort.
If Trump and Kushner had not overseen the greatest scandal in the history of medicine, then the situation would have been more manageable for the incomers: fewer cases, better logistical management of vaccine distribution…ie, no disputes over eligibility/ position in the queue. I think it’s entirely reasonable to have spouses of frontline workers prioritised: it’s imperative that those workers do not fall ill.
As for the vaccine experience: it sounds hideous. I hate feeling ill, but guess it’s a necessary evil in this matter.
What would you have had the Trump administration do differently? Its opponents in the Democratic Party and the media were saying it would be impossible to get a vaccine out before the end of 2020 without a miracle. And yet here we are, arguing over just how this vaccine should be administered. The US has a federal system in which states control matters not explicitly delegated to the federal government by the Constitution. How well did the CDC and the FDA handle testing at the beginning of the pandemic? We lost a good month in response time because of centralization. European countries with their much admired national health care systems did little better than the US. Given the huge disparity in size between the US and individual European countries, it would be better to compare US states to those countries. Four of the top five worst performing states are ones run by Democrats and their COVID-19 deaths per capita far exceed those of any European countries. The grotesquely self-congratulatory Gov. Cuomo is even being revealed as an incompetent liar by his attorney general.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104709/coronavirus-deaths-worldwide-per-million-inhabitants/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1109011/coronavirus-covid19-death-rates-us-by-state/
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/nyregion/nursing-home-deaths-cuomo.html
I will be at the back of the line in my state, I have no qualifications that are going to give me any kind of priority whatsoever. So maybe this is easy for me to say but honestly I don’t care about the sequence of who goes when, 100% of the focus of every government, agency, vaccine producer, health care provider should be in getting as many doses distributed as quickly as possible. Do it by number, do it by random color code, do it by the last digit of a person’s mobile phone number – whatever. Stop obsessing over sequence and get the vaccine trucks on the road and the people in the lines.
It’s completely pointless to be upset at someone because they got to go in front of you, if anyone wants to be upset, start by asking why it is that this country responded to the biggest health care crisis in 100 years by setting up 200+ unique and individual systems and priorities for vaccination. This has been made way harder than it needed to be – and for some reason that no government agency seems to want to discuss at this point, the planning for this ridiculous patchwork of vaccination systems started in the fall.
Well said, Steve. West Virginia and Alaska are perfect examples. Keep it Simple. But I do think we will get there. Unfortunately the past year was wasted in preparing.
In support of Matthew on this, not that I always do, I to got my first jab today. I may be in my 50’s but still not in the qualifying group here in the DMV. How did it happen? Well, because the system has been completely messed up even when considering the year we had to prepare. And this is not necessarily an “American” thing…it seems to be all over the world.
So I got a call from a friend. He works for one of the Govt. agencies. He had a local hospital that had doses and because of issues with the systems in booking not enough people to take them. Like, they had hundreds of them and no one. So they put the call out, get people here. I got a call and a link. I booked it last night. I jumped on a plane from Dallas where I was working and came home for the day to get it.
Until there is some uniform and coordinated system this will be the case for some time. And it’s better to get the jab if you can rather than let it go to waste and left in the void. This is not right. I agree. But it is what it is.
So when the Covid crisis severely hit LA in December, your wife took an LOA from her student nursing job to go to Germany where it would be safer? Seems like that would be the time for all hands on deck.
I have a number of SoCal healthcare workers in my family, and they are working day and night on this fight, with barely any time off, including through the holidays.
It was per my urging. This was indeed a dilemma we wrestled with for many days. There are other issues at play though of a more private, familial nature.
And today the LA times is reporting a first dose shortage in LA county:
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-02-05/l-a-county-faces-severe-limits-in-1st-dose-of-covid-19-vaccines-amid-shortages
Wonderful news. Every person who gets it…gets us all one step closer to a better day. And my feeling is…your wife is putting herself in danger every day, and thus your family in danger. So this is one small way of paying back your family for the sacrifice. And there is also a health benefit too; it’s not just a perk.
It’s easy to sit back and judge the criteria for the prioritization of the vaccine. Should smokers be put in front of non-smokers? Is that fair? What about people in jail for serious crimes? But I’m guessing no one here reading this site was part of the decision making team.
We’ll all get vaccines. Happy you and your family started the process. And thank you to your wife for her hard work.
I strongly support Matthew getting the vaccine now! Matthew does get out of the house. By vaccinating him, it is helping to reduce the transmission rate of Covid-19. The reasoning behind vaccinating elderly first is because that’s a strategy to reduce deaths but not reducing transmission too much. That’s because many elderly stay at home for fear of dying (and they should).
Matthew also helps, in a small way, to protect his wife in case his wife’s vaccine doesn’t protect her.
As far as Matthew’s doctor’s advice, it’s also correct. Waiting 90 days is only if someone received antibody therapy for Covid-19, which President Trump did, preventing him from going on TV to get the vaccine early. If someone already had Covid-19, as did Matthew, there is no waiting interval except those sick with Covid-19 should wait to recover. There is a theoretical public health benefit to waiting so others might get it but that is so hard to monitor that it’s easier just to get it now.
Hopefully, Matthew will continue to act in a safe manner, wear masks, and encourage others, even the vaccinated, to do the same. Don’t feel like Superman and think you are strong because Covid-19 can be kryptonite. It’s recommended not to take any medication before the vaccine though afterwards is supposed to be ok.
Matthew…*****! (5 stars)
great that you were able to get it because of your spouse…In the state and healthcare system(HMO!!!) I’m in right now tho my hubby is front line..no spouses were allowed to get it….. so good that your area allowed you to get it thru your wife’s employ.
Just curious, are you with Kaiser? I’m not a Kaiser fan and have friends in LA who have been kept waiting through that system for a vaccination.
Also just curious, why do you dislike Kaiser?
My friends and family who are with Kaiser in LA receive, in my opinion, inferior health care (less personalized service, longer wait times, the inability to go to a specialist without pre-approval). Furthermore, Kaiser has been slow(er) in vaccinating its members in SoCal.
Doesn’t the government insert a chip in you when you get the vacine?
Happy to know that you and your wife got vaccinated. I have 2 friends both living in LA, one is a dentist and the other is a pharmacist, they are both in the 40s and also got vaccinated 2 weeks ago with Moderna.
I’m sorry but this poor form needs to be called out. Show me anywhere *anywhere* where California guidance shows that spouses of health care workers are in line to be vaccinated before other groups. This is blatant line-calling and incredibly ballsy of you to blog about. I don’t dispute that your hospital told you to come in — but this hospital should be outed and shamed. They did wrong here.
Especially when the vaccine is completely wasted on someone who was already infected!
*line-cutting
Vaccines aren’t going to end the pandemic. Still need to wear masks and social distance. Yearly vaccinations will become the norm. Welcome to the new normal.