I address you with a heart of gratitude today, thankful for the human ingenuity that developed a vaccination so quickly for COVID-19 and on a personal note, thankful that my side effects were much more mild the second round than the first.
Thoughts On My Second COVID-19 Vaccination And A Return To Travel
On Wednesday, I received my second Pfizer-BioNTech jab. After my adverse reaction to the first dose of the vaccine (including nausea, headache, fatigue, and muscle pain), I was expecting a similar reaction this time around. In fact, I cleared my schedule for two days anticipating I’d need to take it easy.
The vaccine was administered around 10:30am. By lunchtime, I was still feeling fine. By late afternoon, I was still feeling fine and even went to the gym and spent an hour there (and did an intense workout, not just cardio). By evening, I was starting to feel pain and soreness at the injection point, but that was it. I took an Advil and went to bed.
I was truly bracing myself to wake up feeling horrible, but I woke up feeing fine. In fact, the muscle soreness had even diminished.
Some of you predicted this would happen because I already had COVID-19 and likely already had COVID-19 antibodies (though I did not check) before my first jab.
Just like passing a difficult exam, the feeling of relief after receiving the second dose cheered me up sufficiently to take away several hours of my time to plan a trip to Central America.
That trip is still only in planning phases and more generally, I realize that a vaccination is not a “get out of jail” pass, at least in terms of virus transmission. While I may be relatively low-risk at this time, new variants of the virus appear more versatile at spreading and more resistant to vaccinations.
All that to say, I was heartened to see thousands of people vaccinated with my own eyes. I am happy that the projections are looking better each day and that we may be able to more easily travel internationally as the year unfolds. I am elated that more businesses will soon be able to re-open and small business owners will begin a long recovery from the devastating past year.
This pandemic has been going on for more than a year now. We’re all weary…my blog stories and travel patterns perhaps demonstrate that I am particularly weary of it. But while it may be with us each year like the flu, the coronavirus will not destroy us.
It also will not destroy our innate longing and indeed human need for fellowship, something that we have forsaken far too long. Oh how I long for the day when we can all gather again!
CONCLUSION
I’ll still mask up and distance. I’m still going to practice good hygiene. But whatever my vaccinations objectively achieve, they subjectively provide relief and move us one step closer toward a return to normalcy.
Dude, I’m happy for you but how did you score a double jab at such a young age.:) I’m envious. And if you’ve already explained please forgive my laziness in checking.
I was wondering about that too, but when you click on the link about his first jab within this story, he explains that his wife is a healthcare worker and the hospital set the policy to vaccinate the spouses of workers. No need for any “line jumping guilt”.
Yep, same thing is happening where I live. I don’t see anything wrong with it, at all. Having an entire family of a health care worker protected means it is far, far, more likely that working can keep doing their job.
I got my second dose today. I fell into my state’s first phase due to a health condition.
I am glad Matthew got the vaccine. He has to go out, even if fewer times. The vaccine will help decrease spread. Some elderly people are getting the vaccine but they stay home everyday and are very careful. Giving them the vaccine won’t affect the spread much because they stay home a lot.
Yes, the hospital where his wife works set that policy, but that is actually not state policy, which should govern. That hospital shouldn’t be making its own rules.
It is now time for states to open the vaccine to everyone and let the chips fall where they may for who gets it. First responders, medical personnel and other targeted groups have had 2 months of preferential treatment and now it is time for that to end.
Amazing that you are willing to go to the gym, etc. The only way to stop the spread is to 100% isolate.
Just keep reflecting on why you lost so bad to another weak Senate candidate…
Whoa.. please leave Ossoff out of this. He’s just another millennial dude looking for a job.
I meant Warnock!
What is wrong with gym? Have been going since the start of the pandemic (other than a quick lockdown) and the place is cleaner than many people’s houses. Highest level of social distancing and cleanlinesses. Leave your basement. There is life out there.
I thought that those who already had come down with COVID weren’t supposed to get a second vaccination? (First, yes, but second no.) Whatever the reasons for that recommendation (never having had COVID, I haven’t I haven’t sought to understand the recommendation), I really hope that you don’t have any adverse reactions because of your earlier bout with COVID, Matthew!
@ many vaccine sites, there are extra vaccines that have no takers, contact those sites if you can standby to wait in line. most likely there are extra and will administer to anyone, regardless of age.
Uniformed (Army) Vaccinator Here:
1. I hope you participated in V-Safe and contributed your data for the good of everyone.
2. Recipients that previously had COVID have shown very high rates of exactly the symptoms you reported (V-Safe has the inside skinny if you have access to the data), with no variance between Moderna/Pfizer
3, For those of us that did *not* contract COVID at anytime prior to receiving a vaccine, for Moderna, I can tell you both anecdotally and from V-Safe data that the second shot is producing some fairly significant side effects…
All of the other troops on my team except 1, whom are also all medical (Army and Air Guard) and in my biased opinion, less likely to malinger… experienced significant to severe side effects starting around 10-12 hours after 2nd Moderna shot. Personally, I started feeling off at about 9PM and by 1AM I was utterly incapable of falling asleep, the lethargy came on strong and I was alternating between freezing and cold sweats. Oral Temp was ~101 for almost 24 hours despite taking acetaminophen [admittedly, not regularly because I wanted to be tough…like an idiot…]. I almost had to take my Medic Strike Team NCOIC to the hospital because he was vomiting and complaining of breathing trouble, but thankfully that passed after I got him some meds.
All in all, I’d take this 11 out of 10 times over actually getting the virus, and I was apprehensive about sharing this so publicly, but I urge everyone to take a day or two after your shot(s) and take it easy. You’ll be glad you did and you’ll be one step closer to more freedoms as you play a very, very important piece of the puzzle.
P.S. Congrats on finishing your vaccination Matthew! I **HIGHLY** recommend taking a VERY clear picture of your CDC card, just in case (both sides). We’ve been told to expect that back side to be used for a third dose in the coming months to address the variants and I imagine you’re grouped into the “early birds” too.
Thanks for your comment, Jake. Is it too late to participate in V-Safe? I’d love to, but it was never offered to me.
Here is the link: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/vsafe.html
Technically you’re eligible to participate for 6 weeks following vaccination, but the sooner you do it, the better data quality.
https://vsafe.cdc.gov/
And since you didn’t do it the first time, don’t worry that it’s going so say “Dose 1” after you input your vaccine manufacturer and date of vaccination. We’ve been told that your data will be reconciled against your *real* first dose at a later time.
Oh and when it comes to the part where you verify you phone number and need a six digit code, for some reason sometimes it really does take ~5 minute to get that code… no clue why.
I got my second vaccine Friday and signed up for that program.
I felt blah yesterday, functioning but didn’t feel great, I am nearly back to 100% today
@Jake, I had the exact same experience as you. Side effects came on 9 hours after the second dose and were just what you described, and also lasted ~24 hours. Such an interesting experience to feel so sick yet know that there’s nothing actually wrong.
Don’t forget to thank Uncle Joe for getting you the vaccine so quickly with Operation Warp Speed.
Yes, because grandpa Joe is the one that developed the vaccine. In his basement.
You probably believed “our 15 cases will soon be zero” and “by April, this just magically disappears.”
No he just gargles Lysol every morning…
Sounds like sour grapes there. Biden didn’t invent the vaccine but he inherited a crappy haphazard system that was completely ineffective and turned it into a working system in record time. Now places can not hoard doses because they know when they’re getting doses beforehand.
He’s not the one who fell over 80% of his end-of-2020 goal…your boy did
Biden’s outperforming his 100MM pledge so far. Amazing what competence can do for a government.
I am also a vaccinator. I work as a volunteer with my state’s Medical Reserve Corp. We have been only vaccinating with the Moderna vaccine so far. My anecdotal experience is that if no prior Covid infection, most folks have minimal symptoms after their first shot, but will be debilitated to the degree that after their second shot, that they should not plan to work/engage in normal activities the following day.
I had Covid last March, and so I was not surprised to feel like I had it again, with many of the same symptoms, after the first shot. I found acetaminophen worked well to manage the chills and headaches. My symptoms were bothersome enough that I took acetaminophen a couple of days. Interestingly enough, I did have a reaction to the second shot, but most of the symptoms were different. I slept most of the next day, and had significant abdominal pain. Acetaminophen helped somewhat with the stomach pain. The following day I had a mild headache, and had I not had to work, I would not have even taken acetaminophen. I did tell my partner, who has not yet been vaccinated, if you can, get the Pfizer! But seriously, I am beyond grateful that we have ANY vaccine, just barely a year into this pandemic, with in the US alone, 500,000 people who have already perished as a result of this virus.
I’m glad you’ve had it; it was the right thing to do. But I’m not disappointed there was some minor pain/discomfort…payback for that vaguely cavalier response in the early days. That debt is now settled. Kyle is next up…followed by Ben and Lucky, then Gary.
Good for you, man. The more people inoculated quickly the better.
Prov 24:17-20
Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;
18
Lest the Lord see it, and it displease Him,
And He turn away His wrath from him.
19
Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the wicked;
20
For there will be no prospect for the evil man;
The lamp of the wicked will be put out.
You jumped the queue?
Both of my folks have had first and second Moderna shot. 74 and 76 years in age. Both have isolated during the entire pandemic and never contracted COVID-19. Neither had any reactions to the shots, with the exception of some slight tenderness around the injection point. I heard this is typical of older individuals as there immunities are more subdued with age.