BY NICOLE ASBURY
Last week, I headed over to LMH Health to get my second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
During my appointment to get my first dose, a nurse from the clinic scheduled my second shot of the Pfizer vaccine. She warned me that people had been experiencing more flu-like side effects after their second shot, and with that in mind, I should make sure to have a few days off to rest after getting the second dose.
After doing a health check-in at the front door of LMH Health, I walked into the vaccine clinic on the first floor of the facility.
A lot of the steps for getting the second dose were similar to the process for my first dose of the vaccine. A nurse helped gather my paperwork at the front. I presented my driver’s license as a form of ID to confirm I wasn’t an imposter. I also carried my vaccine registration card I got from my first appointment so a nurse could fill it out for me.
I signed another vaccine consent form and sat down with a nurse from the clinic so she could walk through potential side effects I may have. I was asked again if I have had any previous allergic reaction to any vaccine. They also asked me how my first shot went to help determine if I might need to be monitored for longer than 15 minutes.
A nurse quickly delivered the second dose to me. It felt just like any other shot. It still surprises me how something I’ve waited for months to experience took fewer than three seconds.
After I received my shot, I sat in a separate room of the clinic to be monitored by an LMH Health employee for 15 minutes. The employee told me he didn’t experience any side effects from the vaccine. Douglas County health officials have also warned that side effects are different for everyone, and that the side effects don’t determine the effectiveness of the vaccine.
Right after I received my second dose, I went home. I made sure to drink a lot of water after I returned from my appointment. That afternoon, I noticed I had a scratchy throat. At around 3 p.m., I was ready to go to bed.
My most prominent side effect was my fatigue. I went to bed especially early that night. I think because of it, I slept through some of the other side effects I experienced because of the vaccine. At one point at 5 a.m., I woke up feeling especially dizzy, nauseous and dehydrated. As I was walking to my kitchen to get another glass of water, I noticed just how sick I felt. I quickly went back to sleep after, and woke up feeling completely fine the next morning.
My arm was also more sore from the second shot than it was through the first shot. I noticed it for about two days. At one point, I remember my phone fell off my nightstand early one morning. As I reached to pick it up, I wanted to start crying because of how tender the area was. The soreness quickly subsided.
I chose again to opt into the program the Centers for Disease and Control set up to track symptoms of the vaccine, called v-safe. So every day around 3 p.m., I get a text from the CDC asking how I feel that day.
Public health officials recommend individuals who receive both doses of the vaccine should continue to wear a mask in public spaces, avoid large gatherings and frequently wash hands. Though the vaccine helps prevent me from getting sick, health officials continue to be uncertain if vaccinated individuals can be an unknowing carrier of the coronavirus. I want to continue to protect my community, so I’m going to keep following the public health guidance that’s given by scientists.
Reach reporter Nicole Asbury at eudoratimes@gmail.com.
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