In Which I Share My Experiences with the Second Dose of The COVID-19 Vaccine

In January 2021, I received my first round of the COVID-19 vaccination shot. If you want to read more about the process, check out the full write up here. TLDR; it was a simple experience and I had really no side effects, aside from a sore arm for a few days. I also did not receive a sticker, which was very troublesome. 

I got the Pfizer version, which was given in two shots, spaced three weeks apart. If you can math well, you’ll realize it’s been about three weeks since the last post, so naturally I have since received my second dose. 

The process was largely the same as the first time.

I had to check in, get the shot, and wait for any immediate adverse reactions (of which I had none).

In chatting with the nurse, she assured me that the government microchip would come online that evening. Apparently the first shot injects it, but the second activates it.* Good to know as my wifi signal hadn’t improved after the last shot. She also told me that they’ve noticed superpowers begin developing around 10-14 days after the second shot, so fingers crossed on my telekinesis showing up by late February.** She also hooked me up with a Bugs Bunny Band-Aid, so that was pretty awesome. 

I also finally got my COVID-19 vaccination sticker. I pulled out my inner Karen and asked for two since I didn’t get it the first time. Stickers are the main reason I do anything, including voting, so I didn’t feel too bad about this. 

All said, I was in and out in less than half an hour – not bad, not bad at all. 

I had no side effects that evening and thought it was going to be another easy ride. 

Oh, how wrong I was. Around 5:00 AM the following morning, I was rudely awoken by a barrage of body aches and pain, along with a massive headache. I took some acetaminophen to help with that and fell back asleep. 

When I re-awoke a few hours later, I was feeling even worse. The body aches and pain were increased and the headache had reared its ugly head. Moving around was a struggle and I didn’t have much of a desire to eat, drink, or move. It felt like I had a bad cold or a mild case of the flu. In some regards, it reminded me of my first day of chemo, but I assume most people (luckily) can’t connect with that. Basically, I stayed in bed all day and took more acetaminophen throughout the day. 

Around 8:00 pm, I took NyQuil and a half dose of Ambien so I could just call it a night. I didn’t sleep great to be honest, but when I woke up, I felt nearly back to normal. I still had some arm soreness, but all the other side effects had disappeared. In fact, I had taken more steps by 11:00 am than I did all day. I had a slight headache and some body aches throughout the day, but I am also just accepting it might just be me getting old.

So what’s next for COVID-19 and me?

I should have full immunity in a week or two, so that’s great on a personal level. I won’t have to worry every time I get a cold if it’s a cold or COVID-19 anymore. 24 hours of feeling crummy is a small price to pay for doing my part and helping end this pandemic. I’m publishing this three days after the injection and feel back to normal. 

As I shared in the last post, Invisibly recently surveyed 5,537 Americans to understand attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine. Part of the survey dealt with what came after the vaccine for many people.

• 75% of vaccinated individuals said they are likely to continue wearing a mask after vaccination
• Majority of Americans say they will return to pre-pandemic activities once officials say it is safe to do so (44%) or once most people are vaccinated (23%), as opposed to returning to normalcy immediately after vaccination

Even after I get the second dose, I do plan to continue wearing a mask. The vaccine protects me, and the mask can help protect others, and also continue to reinforce good mitigation strategies. 

In the words of Bane from The Dark Knight Rises… No one cared who I was til I put on the mask. 

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* For legal reasons, this is a joke.

** For legal reasons, this is also a joke, unfortunately.