[Kiva]

Hi all,

Today I received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Because I’m a healthcare worker (yes, I really am one) who has direct contact with COVID patients, I was designated in the top tier priority. Except for a mildly sore arm, no problems so far.

COVID-19 is a terrible virus. Only when we have achieved widespread immunity will life be normal again. I realize many people have questions and reservations about receiving the vaccine. My hope is that when the vaccine becomes available for you, you will obtain all the information you need and consider your decision carefully. The best source is the CDC website https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/index.html

I will be happy to share my experiences with COVID but I have no desire for this post to be a debate or a forum for different  opinions. This is just a PSA.

Stay safe and have a wonderful holiday season.

Kiva

[Tiberius J.C.]

I'll sleep a lot more soundly in my bed tonight knowing that Kiva and Santa Claus have both been vaccinated. Now if they'll just do Kelli, Babs and David Attenborough. 

[Leeann54]

Thank you for your dedication

Merry Christmas and happy new year to you and your family

[h_k]

I love the fact that Kiva got her vaccine ahead of Santa, Dr Fauci and the President-elect!
Makes perfect sense though, seeing as wot she's Emma Peel, Florence Nightingale and Virginia Woolf rolled into one – a skill set that only comes along once every few dozen millennia.   

[Tiberius J.C.]

Monkey see, monkey do

[AaronL]

Getting my first round this week. Not frontline, but at risk and occasionally work near some frontline folks.

[Tiberius J.C.]

I'll sleep a lot more soundly in my bed tonight knowing that Kiva and Santa Claus have both been vaccinated. Now if they'll just do Kelli, Babs and David Attenborough. 

Attenborough's done. Keilli? Barbara?
https://twitter.com/timjhanderson/status/1348976961973051392?s=20

[Kiva]

In interest of full disclosure, I received the second dose on Saturday. That evening, I developed fever, nausea, and a headache. These symptoms were gone in the morning and I showed up for work fine on Sunday. These side affects are common and annoying and inconvenient. But they are short term and I would do it over again. My point is not to preach to everyone to get the vaccine. My hope is that you will carefully consider your decision and obtain your information from appropriate sources. All the best and stay safe,
-Kiva

[Mikebt]

Good to hear and thank you for being a hero.

I will definitely get it as soon as its available to me. I got a flu shot for the first time this past year and had no side effects (just some soreness in the arm). I've been vaccinated plenty of times before without problems (including BCG vaccine against tb) so hopefully this will be the same. 

[AaronL]

Got round 1 (Modera vaccine) on Thursday. No arm soreness for me, and I've never had a headache so that wasn't a concern, but they weren't lying about fatigue. Got the shot around 10am and took 3-4 naps during the day. Felt great for spurts of 1-2 hours, but the fatigue would come on quick and I'd be out for a nap within a few minutes, just to wake up feeling like I had gotten the best night of sleep ever.

Looking forward to round 2 in early Feb.

[Kiva]

Got round 1 (Modera vaccine) on Thursday. No arm soreness for me, and I've never had a headache so that wasn't a concern, but they weren't lying about fatigue. Got the shot around 10am and took 3-4 naps during the day. Felt great for spurts of 1-2 hours, but the fatigue would come on quick and I'd be out for a nap within a few minutes, just to wake up feeling like I had gotten the best night of sleep ever.

Looking forward to round 2 in early Feb.

Thanks for sharing. I received the Pfizer vaccine but I’m not aware of differences between side effects. In talking to my work colleagues, it seems at least half have some combination of fatigue, fever, headache, lasting 1-2 days. We did have a few call-ins of workers needing a day off. It’s recommended that hospitals consider staggering their staff’s vaccination schedule to avoid staff shortages but we haven’t needed to do that.

The good news is that these reactions indicate your immune system is kicking in. For me, it’s worth feeling lousy for 1-2 days to avoid getting COVID. I hope you’re getting your energy back. You’re halfway there!
-Kiva

[Rita_FF]

I got both parts of the vaccine (Sputnik-V). I received the first part of the vaccine on March 10 and the second on March 30. Mild shoulder pain on the first day after the vaccine is the only side effect I have received after the vaccine.
I totally agree with the topicstarter. You need to take care of your health and the health of the people around you and get a vaccine as soon as possible.

[RippinRobin]

two Moderna shots I'm good.

[Mikebt]

Got my 2nd Pfizer shot last week. I had some muscle pain and fatigue after the first one and only shoulder pain after the 2nd shot. Our state just got past the 50% mark so hopefully we'll get to the goal of 70% by the end of summer. I know close relatives that got Covid in March and they were bed ridden for almost two weeks, trust me this is not something you wanna mess around with. Take advantage of the vaccine so you don't regret it later, especially with all the variants going around.

[Kiva]

Thank you all for contributing to this thread. In recent months, the U.S. has seen a sharp drop in COVID cases and many restrictions have been lifted. However, there has been a rise in cases this week in states with low vaccination rates. The delta variant, which transmits more easily than the original strain, seems to be a factor. In my hospital, we’ve had the busiest week with new COVID cases since May. None had been vaccinated. One of my patients is a healthy young man in his thirties, now with his lungs filled with COVID pneumonia.

Whatever country you live in, if you haven’t been vaccinated, I hope you will consider. It’s a bad virus and the benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the risks. Every immune person contributes to the protection of all of us.

-Kiva