Yesterday, I had my 2nd dose of the Covid vaccine. Obviously, it’s been 21 days since my first one, which was on the 1st of July. Getting the 2nd dose of the vaccine, aka getting “fully vaccinated”, feels good and quite literally, feels bad. If you haven’t had your full dose yet, or even your 1st one, then this is what you can expect. Take note that what is outlined here is my experience in getting the vaccine here in NSW, Australia. You may have a different experience getting your vaccine wherever you’re from.
The 1st jab
I had my 1st jab scheduled at 9:30 in the morning. I arrived in the vaccination center (St. George Hospital, Kogarah) 45 minutes early. Upon arrival, I knew I should have come earlier. There was already a long queue of people waiting just to get to the lift. The vaccination center was on the 4th floor and they only allowed four persons per lift to allow social distancing.
While we waited in line, one staff member went around and asked us for the text message that we received from NSW Health a day prior regarding our scheduled vaccination. I think they were checking just to make sure there were no walk-ins and that everyone properly booked their vaccination via the NSW Health website.
Once I arrived on the floor, I had to wait again for my turn to be “processed”. In processing, they confirmed my details and asked me a bunch of questions regarding the Covid vaccine. They also asked me for my driver’s license and my Medicare card but I reckon any valid ID would have sufficed. It’s just easier to ask for those two since those are what most people always have with them.
After processing, I was asked to wait again for my turn to be vaccinated.
First dose post-vaccination
Once I was vaccinated, I was asked to wait in a room for 15 minutes for observation. Fortunately, I didn’t turn into a zombie as I didn’t really feel like eating brains that day.
The 1st jab was just like getting a flu shot. After a couple of hours, I felt that my arm, or at least the area where the vaccine was injected, was sore. They said this was pretty normal. The next day, I felt that moving my arm takes extra effort. I was injected on the left arm so when I slept, I had to sleep on my back or on my right side.
The soreness and numbness lasted about two days. After that, it was just a waiting game for the 2nd dose of the vaccine.
The 2nd jab
My 2nd jab was pretty much like the 1st jab: 9:30 in the morning with a long queue of people. The whole process was basically the same. The only difference was that, after getting vaccinated, I was given a sticker that says such. Hooray! I’m finally fully vaccinated.
But unlike the 1st dose of the vaccine, the effects of the 2nd dose was much much worse. I already heard about it before from my friends who had their full dose. My dad, who had his full dose a week prior, said he felt like he was going to be sick, or just like recovering from it.
Headache, eye sore, and body malaise
Ten hours after the 2nd dose of the vaccine, it only felt pretty much like the 1st dose: sore arm and a wee bit nauseous. Although I felt sleepy, I still had some energy left to do some work. This morning though, it was different.
When I woke up, I immediately felt I didn’t want to get out of bed. Now it’s been more than 24 hours since I was vaccinated and it feels like I was hit by a truck. My head, eyeballs, my left armpit, and my back hurts. Basically my whole body hurts. I couldn’t sleep well last night because I felt chilly, even though I had the heater at high and placed it literally next to my bed. Eventually, I called in sick and went back to bed.
It gets worse before it gets better
I woke up at 2:00PM and I wasn’t feeling any better. From 9:30AM to 2:00PM, I was dozing in and out of sleep, with Buddy sleeping either next to me or on top of me. My bedroom was dark since I closed the blinds and when I went outside to prepare lunch, I immediately felt my brain pulsating and my eyes felt more painful with the brightness of the living room.
One of my friends who’s a nurse and also already had her full dose said that her armpit was painful as well. She thinks it’s the lymph node that was reacting. I may have the same case. She also advised me that if I don’t get any better after 3-4 days, it’s time to see the GP (general practitioner / doctor).
After having lunch, I took two 500mg tablets of Panadol and hopefully that would at least ease the headache and my throbbing eyes.
It’s now 5PM and instead of going back to bed, I chose to write this blog post. I didn’t want to go back to bed because I felt that it made me even more weak plus I’m pretty sure I’d be having a hard time sleeping later tonight if I did.
Summary
While I made it sound like the effects of getting the full vaccine is really a struggle, getting fully vaccinated is the best thing to do right now. Not only will it keep you from contracting Covid-19, but the more people are vaccinated, the faster we can go back to our normal lives.
What about you? How did you go with your Covid vaccination? Did you have it as bad as I am having it right now or were you fine? Let me know in the comments below.
Cheerio!