I got my first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine yesterday. (If you are interested: the one I got was the Pfizer kind.) I didn’t mention it to you ahead of time because I felt there were many opportunities for it to Not Actually Happen. For one thing, I had friends who were eligible ahead of me, and some of them ended up with appointments in late April; but when my group became eligible and Paul made our appointments, the appointments were at the end of March: weeks earlier than the earlier group. That didn’t seem right at all, and smacked of Something Has Gone Amiss Here.
For another thing: well, you can see above, PAUL made the appointments. He is not the appointment-maker of our household. I am the appointment-maker. So I get real TWITCHY when someone else makes appointments, just as he gets real twitchy if he’s not home and I have to be the one to start the pizza dough in the bread machine, because he is the pizza-dough-maker in our household. But I was much, much twitchier, because I follow the recipe when I make the pizza dough, and the pizza dough has never come out wrong when I’ve made it, whereas Paul does not have a similarly stellar history with making appointments. So I had Concerns on several levels.
The REASON Paul made the appointments is that registration was not supposed to open until 8:00 a.m., but he was up at 5:30 a.m., so he checked the website just to see, and it DID let him register for appointments, and I was still asleep, so he just went ahead and registered us both, which I grudgingly admit was probably the correct course of action. But on the other hand (as I started worrying within 30 seconds of waking up and being told I did not have to spend my whole morning trying to make an appointment), what if that was a glitch and the system didn’t actually accept those appointments? What if the state was running a little test before opening for real at 8:00, and they didn’t even realize people were able to interact with it while it was being tested, and when they took it out of test mode those appointments vanished? What if he somehow made appointments for a town with the same name as our town but in a different state? What if he accidentally made appointments for Covid-19 TESTS instead of Covid-19 SHOTS? Also: he registered himself, and then put me down as his “plus one”; what if he did that wrong, and so now HE gets his vaccine but I don’t get mine, and when we find this out and I have to make a new appointment, I find that the system is now booking into JUNE, and then it turns out I can NEVER LET THAT RESENTMENT GO AS LONG AS I LIVE? These were some of my myriad concerns.
My concerns increased when we arrived for our appointments and the line of cars for the appointment site was backed up for over half a mile, with a police officer directing traffic. AND the line doubled into TWO lanes’ worth of cars in the line up ahead. This was about 20 minutes before our appointment time.
Well! We waited about two hours altogether, from “20 minutes before appointment time” to “shots done and driving away,” staying in the car the entire time (this was a drive-up thing), and I needed to pee for about one hour forty-five minutes of that time, enough to be cranky but not badly enough to use the portable pandemic toilets, and in the end WE DID GET OUR SHOTS (AND I DID NOT PEE MY PANTS). There was no trouble with Paul’s appointment, nor with mine, nor with the “plus one” appointment concept. He had put my information in correctly, or at least correctly enough for me to get a shot. The appointments were indeed for shots and not accidentally for tests. The appointments were for shots in our own state and not another state. Etc. And we had not missed our appointments by being in line for so long: the appointment times seemed to be more of a way to pace people throughout a particular day, and the workers were fully aware of the line and its limitations.
The shot itself was no big deal. I had heard that it hurt surprisingly little, but it turned out I was too wound up to notice one way or another: my brain did not see fit to record that part of the experience. I remember the name of the guy who gave me the shot, and I remember what design of mask he was wearing, and I remember what he said while he was giving the shot (“You might have some soreness here; it might be sore to sleep on tonight; you might get a little fever”), and I remember him putting the bandaid on afterward, but I don’t remember the shot itself. I do think I would have remembered if it hurt MORE than I’d expected.
On the other hand, shots don’t bother me a whole lot. They DO bother Paul a whole lot, so I can report that he said he definitely felt his and that it hurt, but that it was “…okayyyy” compared to a flu shot (i.e., not as bad as what he thinks of as a typical flu shot). But he also said he had not been able to relax his arm for the shot: I can make mine dangle limply, and that’s supposed to help with pain at the time and with soreness afterward. Also: when we were back home and he got out of the car he yelled “ARG, OW!!!!” and I said “GAH WHAT IS IT??!??” and he said “My butt is sore from sitting for so long,” so let’s let that little anecdote adjust our Pain Experience Translators accordingly.
Two small things did not go quite right with the shots. One: They did not have us wait 15 minutes afterward, and in fact moved the line out with a hearty wave goodbye so they could deal with the next batch of cars (the line had not shortened when we drove past it on our way out), and we didn’t know what to do about that. Pull over into an adjoining lot and wait on our own? What we did was, we just drove off like everyone else was doing (possibly because everyone else also REALLY NEEDED TO PEE), and I fretted about it for 15 minutes, and then at that point stopped fretting because by then we would have been done waiting anyway. But Paul and I agreed afterward that if we’d had more time to think, and hadn’t been surprised by it (we’d thought we were in the waiting phase, but then the line suddenly moved), we probably would have pulled into an adjacent lot and waited there, just in case.
The second thing that did not go quite right is that they did not book our second appointment. Fortunately, we had heard from friends that SOME vaccine sites/workers were booking the second appointment on the spot and SOME were not, so we knew to be ALERT for that, and we knew to go home and go back to the vaccine website and book our second appointments. I fretted about all the people who will NOT know to do that. If I hadn’t heard about it from someone else, I might have thought vaguely that we would Hear Something From Someone About It.
Actually there was a third thing that didn’t go quite right, which is that there was an area on the card for them to write the date after which we should get the next shot, and they had not filled that out. Again, I fretted about people who would not know what to do about that. We’d looked it up, so we knew we needed to wait at least three weeks, and that three to four weeks later was considered typical and/or ideal for the second shot. (Paul had read somewhere that since the second shot of Pfizer is supposed to be three weeks later and the second shot of Moderna is supposed to be four weeks later, a lot of places are just using four weeks later for all second shots, to avoid confusion and mix-ups.)
And a fourth thing: we did not get stickers. I realize this is minor. But I was hoping for a sticker. It is the same when I vote: I do not NEED a sticker, but I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE a sticker.
I haven’t looked much into side effects or when they might happen if they were going to happen, but I’ve been braced for a couple of days of feeling pretty bad. It’s been just over 24 hours, and I can say I had just enough soreness in my arm that when I woke up in the night and was lying on it, I decided to switch to my other side; but other than that I wouldn’t know I’d had a shot. And yesterday evening I felt a little extra tired, but that could have been the aftermath of all the vaccine-appointment-concern adrenaline. Paul reported more arm soreness, and when he woke up this morning he took a pain killer for joint pain—but he said he didn’t notice when the pain killer wore off, and didn’t need any more. But, like, maybe that joint pain was vaccine-related…or maybe it’s that we’re in the age group that is eligible for vaccines, is what I’m just sort of wondering aloud about here. And also, remember that little anecdote I told you earlier.
And most of all I am stunned and amazed: THE VACCINE is into THE ARM. What mostly surprised me was how very quickly we went in our area from “We are still not eligible, and we have no idea when we WILL be eligible, and maybe we won’t get an appointment for MONTHS, maybe not until JULY or AUGUST” to “Wait—already the first shot is done?” There has clearly been a big shift UP in vaccination speed, and if it has not yet happened for you, and you are thinking “I am genuinely happy for others because every shot makes us all incrementally safer, BUT ALSO I WANT A VACCINE TOOOOOOOO,” I hope you end up feeling similarly about the speed of that transition.
YAY!!! YOU HAVE A SHOT IN YOUR ARM!!!!
I am a bit perturbed at the lackadaisical follow-through about the 15 minutes, and the scheduling of the second shot.
I’m so happy for you!!
I got my first one last week and my parents (who still work and are 70), my siblings that are teachers, and one that works in a factory all have their second shots.
I have zero reaction to the flu shot, so I was somewhat surprised that my arm was sore the next day. But that was it. After his second shot my Dad slept for 17 out of 24 hours and generally felt crappy for the day. One sister ran a slight fever for 24 hours. My mom had zero effects. I feel like I’ve heard that the healthier you are the more likely you are to have symptoms. If that’s true, that kind of held true with my family. My mom has a few preexisting conditions and my dad doesn’t really have any. Or it could just be that my dad always tends to react to the vaccine as well. Who knows and who really cares? They feel fine now!
I will add that I felt a bit guilty getting my vaccine. I meet the preexisting conditions for my state (BMI, which leads to kind of guilt), but I work from home and that won’t change any time soon and I live by myself and haven’t been doing much. I was checking for appointments and found one about an hour from me (I’m in the biggest city in my state). I took the appointment thinking it would be easy to change—however they discourage you from cancelling because the pharmacists have to call people. Anyway, I probably wouldn’t have made the appointment I did had I known that. BUT….I do think that I’m helping in general.
I don’t anticipate changing much, although I do think I’ll go back to the gym next week. My gym was open through the summer and fall and I went. However, when we had our surge in November and my gym didn’t seem to be doing much, I opted out. I need to get back.
Yeah, BMI is horsepucky, but the powers that be have decided to treat it as relevant, so . . . .
When my state first categorized people, it listed “obese” as an underlying condition, and I’m not sure whether I hate stupid BMI or stupid “obese” terminology more, but I didn’t check that box, although I maybe could have? I don’t know for sure; I don’t have a scale.
But then my state redivided groups and now there was a category for “overweight,” also a stupid term, but I figured fat-haters would all agree that I belong there, so I signed up.
I follow other stupid rules that hurt me, so I figured I would follow a stupid rule that helps me and gets us all closer to herd immunity.
I am Team “Everyone Get the Shot!” so I am happy to hear that you did so!
Yesterday I got my second Moderna shot. The first one was easy; no big deal. The second: I tossed and turned all night, and finally got up about 5:30 with my heart pounding and a 100° fever. Also a headache — not too bad; I get migraines and this was definitely not as bad as a migraine. In retrospect, I should have drunk a whole lot of water in the hours after the shot. When I got up, I immediately drank lots of water, which lowered my heart rate considerably (allow here for the possibility that I was panicked about possible side effects, which is something I do), and then took a couple of ibuprofen for the fever. My temperature is typically in the 97° range, so 100° was very high for me. I took a couple of naps, cut way back on my work, drank lots of water and I’m hopeful that tomorrow I will be back to my old self. Let’s hope! My husband has a sore arm, but is otherwise feeling fine, for which I am immeasurably grateful.
We were fortunate to get scheduled at our home clinic, which is a “community health center,” and it was delightful. We parked in the regular lot, as usual, called in to get the COVID questions asked (as usual), and almost as soon as we were seated in the waiting room, an aide came to take our cards* and bring us into the vaccination room, right off the waiting room. We sat in chairs for 15 minutes, and then left. There were probably a total of 8 people at the most in the waiting room with us, so it felt very safe, and we have been in that clinic numerous times over the past year for other things.
My husband neglected to bring his first-dose card — which could have been a big deal if we’d gone to a mass vaccination cliniic — but they were unfazed, gave him a new card and told him to be sure to throw away the first one. While we were waiting 15 minutes, I took photos of both our completed vaccination cards and emailed them to both of us. The advice seems to be to NOT laminate the card (in case of boosters), but it’s OK to make copies of the card and laminate THOSE; keep the original card where you keep things like your passport.
I’m so glad to read this. I am halfway through Moderna and keep hearing horror stories.
24 hours later, I am FINE. Back to normal, temp 96.7°. I’m somebody who never gets sick, so it was, while not unexpected, kind of a weird experience. Cara, you probably will be just fine, but I am grateful that I had been pre-excused from my long-term jury duty commitment for the day and didn’t have to drive two hours to the city and back.
I had my second Pfizer this past Saturday. After my first shot, my arm was SORE and I maybe felt tired about 24 hours later (but maybe because it was the end of a long week). I felt 100% awesome after my second shot. My arm was a teeny bit sore, but not nearly as bad. Maybe this is because of the placebo effect, but I felt amazing, light-hearted, energetic, and ebullient.
I just took my 17-year-old son for his first Pfizer shot so we will see how he does. He doesn’t feel pain in the same way others do, so I suspect he will be fine whether he really feels fine or not. Either way, we passed the 15 minute wait time by shopping for celebratory Reese’s Easter Eggs. I highly suggest that method.
My spouse has had an adverse reaction to a vaccine in the past, so will have to make an appointment with his physician. We will see how long it takes him to actually follow through.
I’m hoping they open up vaccines for my 15-year-old soon. She’s anxious to be a part of the vacc club.
So happy for you. ❤️
I too was surprised by the short amount of time from the “starting to rollout vaccines, it’ll probably be 6 more months for me” stage to the “OMG, I’m going to get my shot!” stage.
I totally agree. I went from thinking MAYBE it would be May or June by the time I could make an appointment to seeing my age group become eligible and less than 24 hours being vaccinated.
My husband and I found out from our dog walker that our community health center had appointments that needed to be filled that day. So we went. They were fairly well organized. Our arms were sore and I was tired the next day. Otherwise, we just felt elated.
We were actually called by our grocery store pharmacy the next day because they were booking waitlisters for appointments. I hope everyone who wants a shot is able to find them. I also hope people in my community are actually getting them.
I got mine yesterday and had a similar experience as you. Pretty amazing. I’m also hearing about places in the world going back into lockdown, and a potential 4th wave in US so it’s a lot of mixed feelings. My own county is at a super high rate but our school district is as good as it’s ever been case wise? Yesterday there were 80ish deaths in the state and today 0? So mixed feelings, but feels like a step forward.
Beth & I got ours today and it was the J & J, so we’re done!
Our experience was a bit smoother, pretty short wait, just going through checkpoints to answer questions, show id, etc. And there was a waiting area with chairs for after the shot. The whole thing took 40 minutes, including the 15 minute wait.
Yay! What wonderful news!
I got my first shot at Walgreens. After injecting the vaccine, the pharmacist said, “If you want to wait in case you have an allergic reaction, you can browse in the store for 15 minutes.” There wasn’t any dedicated place to wait, so I just walked home. But everything was on time, and I’ll take any appointment that I can get. Tomorrow is shot #2.
So happy for you! I’m thankful my parents managed to book theirs for April 7 which is not too far away :)
I got my second shot yesterday (Pfizer), with no side effects other than a little sore spot if you touch my arm. Its easy to get the shots here, I just went to Walgreens.com and scheduled both appointments. Very little wait,maybe 10 minutes tops.
Yes! I booked at Walgreens and then made a different appointment at CVS (better time for me). So I canceled the Walgreens appointment and marveled at the abundance of vaccine appointments!
We got our second Pfizer last Friday. I know one of the reasons people signing up later were getting early dates, they kept opening new sites for the shots. We had appointments, then my husband found out Walgreens was giving them, so we got in weeks earlier. He scheduled online-so he booked both 1st and second at the same time. It was super easy, we only waited at the most 10 minutes-mostly for the pharmacist to get ready. No one waiting in front of us. We know we were lucky. I was a bit nervous hearing coworkers say they had really bad reactions to the second shot, but we were both fine. A bit tired on Saturday but I think that was normal after a full work week tired! So happy to have this done.
I am not eligible yet and it still seems so far away. In my state it will be 4/15 for everyone but there probably will not be enough shots for everyone who wants one for another couple of weeks after that date. However, I am so happy for you and people I know who are partially or fully vaccinated and already buying plane tickets to see family they haven’t seen in a year! The mask dreams I have been having for a year disappeared about 2 or 3 weeks ago and I think that reflects my overall hopes for the near future.
Also, “he said “My butt is sore from sitting for so long,” so let’s let that little anecdote adjust our Pain Experience Translators accordingly.” HA!
The vaccine ramp up here has been astounding. I, too, went from “nope, nope, nope” to “here are several appointments you can choose from this week”. I get my first shot tomorrow. C got his today. My state’s 2 biggest vaccine sites are now giving shots to 16 and up. Anyone 16 or older. I called today to get my 16 year old an appointment for next week. The only one they had available was too soon after her meningitis vaccine (by ONE F-ING DAY, GAH!) The really nice lady said they would be making more appointment available tomorrow so try back then. You betcha!
Anyway, here’s hoping your state starts to open up eligibility to teens very soon, Swistle. Especially now that Edward will be 16 soon.
Hmm, I don’t have much positive to say about our state’s Covid response. BUT, I have yet to hear a story of anyone not being monitored for the 15 minutes AND your second shot is scheduled with your first. As in, you book your first date and the second is automatically booked for 4 weeks later at the same time. You only have to do anything about your second date if you need to change it.
Oh well, it worked out fine for you and we will just hope everyone else figured it out, too.
Yay!! I’m so happy for you!!! My husband and I got the Johnson and Johnson shot 3 weeks ago now. He was eligible so I called to schedule him and they asked if I wanted one too. I felt guilty but they said they had so many open appointments. Now our county has been doing anybody over 18 for at least a week and having a hard time filling all the apptmts. I had no side effects but I definitely felt it going in my arm and it hurt! Lol. My husband’s didn’t hurt but he felt flu-like for a day.
We got the moderna shot a few weeks ago. My arm was very sore afterwards and I did not tense up when the shot was given. It was so sore and not a typical sore injection site pain (which my husband had), but more pain in my joints – my fingers, my wrist, my elbow. It was intense, but went away about 24 hours after the shot. My husband’s soreness lasted longer, 48 hours, I think he said.
We were monitored for 15 minutes and one of the women who was there with us did have a reaction and the medics who were there called the ambulance to take her to the hospital.
I also realized when we went for the shot that I forgot to register our 16 (almost 17) year old. They wouldn’t give him the Moderna shot (18+ for that one), but said that some of the vaccines had been approved for 16+
YAY!!! I loved every word of this. Your experience was so different from mine!
But the critical similarity: VACCINE ROUND ONE IS DONE.
My husband got his first dose on Tuesday and I have my appointment on Saturday! I get a bit teary thinking of all the effort and science and work that has gone into saving lives this year. Yes, it could have been better, but it could have been much worse.
I so appreciate this, as my husband and I scheduled our shots (Pfizer rounds 1 and 2) today. We go Saturday. I am very afraid of side effects but not enough to stay away! Looking forward to your experience with #2
I am so happy the shot process is underway for you!
I was vaccinated in January bc I work in healthcare. I had Pfizer and had a headache after the second one but nothing bad enough to prevent me from working. Interestingly, I had to wait the 15 minutes after both times. My over-70 father did a drive through Pfizer clinic. I drove him and the first time he was required to wait 15 minutes and w his second shot, it was optional so we just drove away since he’d done fine with the first.
I did go straight from “My turn is never going to come” to “Uh, so I have a shot and an appointment for the second? Really? That happened?”
I did feel a bit silly to be a rule follower after my shot. I got it in a grocery store pharmacy. The shot-giver told me to wait for 15 minutes after, so I duitifully sat back down in the waiting room. The chairs were not 6 ft apart, and I had to sit between two people who WERE 6 ft apart, in the middle chair. I was double masked and made a production of using hand sanitizer after touching the doorknob (shots are behind a door), but still felt very apologetic for the space violation. Especially 5 minutes later when I realized NO ONE ELSE WAS WAITING. They were venturing out into the grocery aisles to pick up a few things while staying pharmacy-adjacent and why didn’t I think of that?! Bonus groceries! While freeing up waiting space! So I gave a (very fake) exclamation along the lines of “we do need bread!” and got some groceries. Leaving the store after 15 minutes total, with some bread, was…weird.
HAPPY VACCINE DAAAAAY! I lucked into an extra dose and my 2nd dose is in 5 days. I, too, thought it would be June before I got mine, but it turns out our state will open it to everyone starting April 19! It is HAPPENING.
My husband (40s) got both of his Moderna shots a few months ago (overseas military) and was fine for both of them. Some people he works with only felt sick after the second shot, not the first. My parents (60s) have both of their shots (Pfizer) and neither had any side effects but my mom apparently heard that the older you are the less likely you are to get side effects from the shots.
I am still waiting for a shot, which I will eventually get as a military dependent, but they will give us J&J vaccines and from what I read it will be awhile before we get offered them. South Korea, where we live, has started vaccinations but a bit more slowly than the U.S.
I am SO GLAD to hear of people in the States getting shots, and being eligible for them, and deciding to take them, so good for you and Paul and I hope they continue to become widely available and accepted!
I am admittedly envious. I’m in Germany and the vaccination roll-out is sloooow. At the current rate, I might be able to have my first vaccine this summer or maybe this fall. I’m finding the (mis-)management of the roll-out over here to be quite frustrating, tbh.
I am so happy for you!
It will be many months before I am eligible. Up here, the rollout is SLOW. My husband is in his 50s and he is expecting his first dose maybe in June. So I’ll be after that, sometime. We also don’t have enough vaccine and so currently people are waiting FOUR MONTHS for their second doses, which, well. I am just beaten down at this point. Nothing to do but wait, I guess.
However! That doesn’t change the fact that I am so happy for you and everyone else who is getting the vaccine quickly and I am happy to hear that the only side effect was a sore arm. Wonderful news!
Congrats on your shot! It’s such a relief, isn’t it, feeling like the end is in sight. I am perturbed that they weren’t organized enough to schedule the second shot, but I am glad that you were able to get it done yourself.
I would like to tell you/warn you of my vax experience. I was slightly achy on the first shot (pfizer), but the second shot hit a lot harder. I had fever, nausea, fatigue, and just felt like garbage for several days. Thankfully I expected it, so it wasn’t alarming. It was actually reassuring- my body is making so many antibodies! I’ll take another nap to help it out. I am one week out and the fatigue has finally gone. Each day I think, wow, I am feeling better than yesterday, and as I approach the 14 day mark I am feeling even more hopeful. But give yourself some time. Also, GIRD YOUR LOINS, for the man who cries out in pain from sitting in a car for two hours maybe, just might be, a little bit dramatic about the second one.
I got my second Pfizer shot yesterday and I feel terrible. Joint pain, fever, headache. So hopefully that means I am also super healthy! We are in Arizona and thankful that Tucson has vaccine protocols down. My 16 was vaxxed this past weekend and they asked if he had ever used an inhaler (he has). They flagged him and had him wait 30 minutes to make sure he didn’t have a reaction.
Hang in there! I hope you will have a quick recovery.
Hooray, our Swistle is (halfway) vaxxed! My appointment is 4/12 and I can’t wait. Just signed up my16yo, too. I feel sad for my 13yo; she definitely feels left out. We’re watching the news about the shot for kids, waiting with BATED BREATH.
LOL’d at the ANECDOTE!
I’m so glad you got your first shot! I got mine, too, and so many of my friends have suddenly been able to get theirs as well. The more, the better!
As for Paul and the sore butt, oh dear. He’s a piece of work, all right.
Hooray!!! I am so happy for you both!
My husband, 16 year old daughter & I lucked into leftover Pfizer vaccines at the end of a day at a vaccine site (a neighbor told me the site needed to use up doses that day). I’ve had both doses now and going out into the world without worrying too much is a bizarre experience. I still mask etc in public but now see my vaccinated mom INSIDE and NO MASK and it is such a gift.
We went with Walgreens, because it was easier to schedule directly with them than dealing with the state department of health website. And Walgreens has Pfizer. When my husband and I got shots last week, our Walgreens was not doing shots for under 18. I have since heard that this has changed, but I’m having problems getting the kids in for theirs. Oh, and no one was watching for adverse reactions. In my group of six getting shots at the same time (all strangers), four got up and left immediately, while myself and some other guy sat for the suggested 15 minutes.
I suggest scheduling the flu for 24-48 hours after your second shot; lots of people do not get responses, but if you do, it is nice to have a clear calendar and some soup on hand. I loved getting a reaction to the second shot, because it told me that my wonky immune system *actually figured out what to do* and would, in the future, similarly gear up and fight if it meets something similar in a dark alley rather than going “huh? what? oh, are you a friend of mine?” right before getting mugged. But also it was a pretty mild reaction, and while I would not have been happy to have high-intensity brainwork or socializing, I would have been able to muddle through some things, anyway. But it was loooovely to know, both ahead of time and while I was feeling cruddy, that I had the time clear and could just hunker down under blankets and have soup and call it a day.
Anyway!!! Congratulations! One vaccination closer to the finish line!!!
So happy for you and Paul! It feels like a step in the right direction.
I just got my first shot yesterday – Pfizer at a Walgreens. I also went from thinking it would be a few more months before it occurred to happening to look at the website late at night on a Friday and finding that there were available appointments the next week! Arm is still a little sore today but not as much as yesterday. I like that Walgreens lets you schedule both shots together. The directions included all this serious language about bringing in the correct forms and making sure you fill out the state vaccine form and the self-attestation form before your appointment so I went to my office in order to print out the paperwork and then the clerk at Walgreens only asked for the Walgreens form and not the other ones. The waiting area was small and I was sitting closer to the other people than I would have preferred but there wasn’t any availability at any larger sites.
Anyway, it feels good to have 1 shot done and now several family members are vaccinated so we will try to get together this summer, barring any complications, fingers crossed, etc.
I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!! I am giddy with elation that so many people in these comments are partially, fully, or scheduled to be vaccinated! I truly didn’t think we’d see this rapid of a roll out, I too was assuming it would be, like, September before Not At Risk People could get vaxxed, but THINGS! are HAPPENING! (I’m so sorry, Europeans :( I don’t mean to rub it in.)
Would you like my sticker? I would be happy to mail it to you.
Yay for the vaccine!
A few things: I read this somewhere, and a quick internet search confirmed that I didn’t imagine it, and it may not be true, but it can’t hurt: move your arm a ton after you get the vaccine and for the rest of the day. I had much less soreness than my husband who did not randomly walk around swinging his arm.
Also, I’m in NY and got a sticker only after the second vaccine. It’s bizarre because I was vaccinated at the state fairgrounds and the sticker says so, and makes it seem like one more attraction at the fair!
Yay vaccines! I got my first dose of Pfizer on 3/31 and just had a sore arm the next day. I live overseas and vaccine rollout has been slow. The country just finished vaccinating 60+ and now opened registration for 45-59. I’ve never been so happy to be 45!
We had been warned it could take up to 2 months to get called to schedule the appointment – especially as expats we expected our visas to be put at the end of the line. So imagine my surprise when we were one of the first groups to be called! I went from “it may be a couple months” to “I’m getting vaccinated tomorrow!” overnight.
The only weird thing that happened was that the protocols at the vaccine site my husband went to were very different from mine (because of work schedules we had to book independent of each other). We both got Pfizer and they really emphasized to my hubs that he should not drink alcohol for 48 hours post-vaccine. No one at my site mentioned alcohol and we compared information pamphlets and they were identical EXCEPT my husband’s had an added paragraph about not drinking alcohol. Weird.
If it helps, my site had no stickers for the first shot but were giving out pins with the second shot. Maybe they will have stickers AND pins when you go back?
I got my first shot on Wednesday and am happy for me and sad for you that I only waited 10 minutes in my drive-up line, got a sticker, a 2nd appt, and was instructed where to wait for 15 mins (and honk if I experienced a problem, to which someone would come running). I LOLed at your description of Paul making the appointments, I would have felt the exact same had my husband made my appointment. I am very hopeful that this rollout is really moving now and that everyone who wants a shot will be able to get one very soon!!!
Sometimes the experience is different even at the same place. A friend and I went together to get our vaccines. For the 2nd one I was given instructions about things like drinking water after and moving my arm etc. She was told nothing! But they did have a waiting area both times and people with asthma etc had to wait 30. They also automatically schedule our 2nd one when we went for our first. Of course our shots were only being given at the hospital because we are in a rural part of the state, but now they have started to open them up in other places and to other groups.
I was a little tired after the first one, but wow with the second one I felt like I had been run over by a freight train (total fatigue and headache), the 2nd day like a Mack truck, 3rd day mini-van. Today I feel pretty good though. Every person’s experience is going to be a little different, but I was expecting some fatigue.
To anyone who might feel bad about “jumping the line”, don’t…they have to use those things and it is surprising how many people change their minds.