Hello everyone! Well, I did it. I decided to go ahead and complete the COVID-19 vaccine. For this post, I wanted to share my experience receiving the vaccine back in January. Keep reading if you are interested!

This post is not sponsored. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

WHY DID YOU GET THE VACCINE?

My original plan was to wait a little while to receive the vaccine. I decided to go ahead after speaking with a family friend who has been researching the coronavirus as well as mRNA vaccines since around 2004. I will not go into detail, because I am not an expert. I booked my vaccine appointment with my job the next day.

For those who may not know I am currently working as a Emergency Room Registered Nurse. As a ER Nurse, I was included in the first phase of the vaccination plan. I have been exposed to COVID more times than I would like to count. Unfourtunately, there are times a patient will be bought back from triage, dropped off into a room and you won’t find out the patient is positive until they tell you. I have not had COVID yet and was honestly willing to try it. I have no pre-existing conditions and I do my best to live a balanced lifestyle, therefore I considered myself a low-risk for having a poor reaction to the vaccine.

PREPARATION

To sign up for an appointment, I was directed to a system called VAMS which is run by the CDC. After selecting an appointment time at the hospital I work at, I completed an online questionnaire about any history of allergies, reactions to medications/vaccines, etc, any current flu-like symptoms and such. I also had to repeat the process before the second shot as well.

Before I recieved both of my injections I made sure to take an Ibuprofen. I also took Ibuprofen about every six hours for the day I received the shot (if I felt I needed it). I do this whenever I receive the influenza vaccine as well because I tend to feel a little crumby afterwards. I also made sure to schedule my shots on days where I had at least a night or two off of work.

ARRIVING TO THE SITE

Upon arriving to the room where we could receive our shots, I was given a vaccination card and some basic paperwork to fill out. That paperwork took about a minute to complete. I was then led to station two to confirm that I had an appointment and add the sticker to my vaccine card. Following this, I waited about thirty seconds in line to get the vaccine. After handing over my paperwork, I was stuck and then instructed to wait for about fifteen minutes in some socially distanced seating behind. That was all! Below I have listed the symptoms I felt following each step. Overall, my health system made the proces very easy and I was pretty much there for a total of about twenty minutes.

INJECTION 1: AFTERWARDS

• Injection Site: My shoulder was pretty sore for about a day and a half. I honestly did not have time to focus on it because I work in the Emergency Department and my shift consists of a lot of pulling and pushing. I also had a little bit of redness.
• Fatigue: I only felt a little bit of fatigue for about a day and a half as well. The only thing I have to compare this feeling to how I feel after the influenza shot.

INJECTION 2: AFTERWARDS

• Injection Site: I had a bit of injection site soreness after the second shot, but not as much as the first. I did not notice any site redness.
• Chills: About fifteen hours after receiving the vaccine, I began to have some very mild chills. I ended up popping a Tylenol and heading to bed.
• Fever: I did wake up with a fever of 101 degrees Farenheit. I took a Tylenol and the fever was gone within four hours (meaning my temperature returned to normal).
• Fatigue: I did not notice as much fatigue as the first shot, but I decided to spend the day resting.

That is pretty much my experience! No, I did not feel light-headed or pass out after the vaccine or anything like that. Since both doses, I have not noticed any changes and have continued my life as normal. I encourage everyone who may be considering the vaccine to make an informed decision for yourself and to not feel pressured. I will say that my experience was very mild compared to others I have seen or heard about. Thanks for reading!