Second dose rough but worth it

I got my second dose of coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday afternoon and it really knocked me down.

It was the kind ofresponse I typically get from the standard, run-of-themill flu vaccine offered on an annual basis.

I felt ill.

I actually felt OK in the hours immediately after I received my vaccine. But the following day, I was down for the count and called in sick to work. Friday, which would typically be my day off, I was still sidelined. Finally, on Saturday, I began to feel better.

It was unpleasant, but I’m glad I was able to be vaccinated and I hope that my friends, family and the rest of the eligible residents of this county are able to soon.

I qualified as part of the second phase of distribution as an In-home Support Services employee, a caregiver.

My second dose was given to me at a vaccination clinic operating in the College of the Redwoods gym. My vaccinator was someone I had spoken to on multiple occasions through my work with the Times-standard. He was a former spokesperson of a local police department, and it was nice to meet someone in person who I had only known through our phone conversations.

My vaccinator warned me I might experience a sore shoulder after the second dose, much like I did after the first dose. I certainly did have a sore shoulder for a couple of days, but it was part of all over body aches, a fever for several days, and what I will politely refer to as gastrointestinal distress. These were all consistent with the CDC’S list of potential side effects from the Pfizer vaccine.

And, as expected, after a few days the side effects subsided and I am back to normal.

I have anecdotally heard about folks who received their second dose without any side effects. I’m trying not to be bitter.

It’s a 50-50 kind of situation. You either get sick or you don’t. And after that, the reassuring feeling of knowing after a year of living in the pandemic, there is a little more safety for me when I go to the grocery store for my client. I can definitely live with that.

And I might, as my vaccinator suggested, get that vaccine card framed.

That light at the end of the tunnel looks a little bigger all the time.