The lighter side of AstraZeneca reflections
Does my excitement leap off your screen or page?
Today, I am officially on Day 13. One more day until the AstraZenca vaccine I received along with 57,576 other Nova Scotians, at the time of writing this, will reach maximum effectiveness. This feels like a positive win in my camp and leaves 11 more days until I pass through the invisible VITT gateway into a new kind of ‘safe zone.’
I’m sensible enough to know the chances are rare I’ll experience a vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), but if I’m honest I cannot deny that I don’t think about it. My family is, frankly, exhausted with me ‘thinking about it.’ To them, I ask, or rather sweatily decree, ‘cut me some slack.’
You see, a chunk of the demographic of women who became eligible to receive their vaccines, like myself, right before AstraZeneca was paused, are also in that wonderful age bracket of peri-menopause. Ironically or not, it was on the exact night of Day 4 that I began my very first series of diabolical night sweats. For three nights in a row, I awoke soaking and flushed, wondering if I should call 911 or sit in front of my open freezer for an hour. Could AstraZeneca be responsible for ramping up menopause?
Completely off the rails, this mere coincidence sparked a series of somewhat paranoid days ahead for me, and sadly, because we are confined to our homes in lockdown, also for my three children and very patient husband.
Sure, we all measure risks on a daily basis. Some are obvious, like if I pick up this pot without an oven mitt, what are the chances I will burn my hand? However, this particular vaccine risk taken 13 days ago feels a little Russian-Roulette-like to me. I am grateful though when I look at my numbers and I focus on one more day until my COVID force field will be activated.
My husband and I drove to Yarmouth from Halifax to get our doses. He works for the City of Halifax and has been on the front-line of this virus through all three waves. It was important for us to be protected, especially with three children in the house and one of them being prone to bronchial infections on a regular basis.
Do I regret getting the vaccine? Hell no. Would I do it again? Not one with a heightened risk of blood clots when there is an alternative around the corner. Hindsight is 20/20 but for now, I’ll focus on the numbers and be grateful for every day before this one and for the ones to come after.
We are living in a new era and I believe we will all be forever changed in some way from the past months in the pandemic. As long as I continue seeing the light-hearted pieces within this moment in time and the sweaty humour and the rolling eyes of those I love most, I know I’m doing alright. I hope you are too.