When I had my first vaccine appointment 3 weeks ago, I didn’t believe it was going to happen until it did. And there were a lot of reasons why I felt that way. Getting my appointment was much easier than what many of my friends experienced. I was worried I’d get turned away for some reason or told they made a mistake letting me have an appointment. But I think the biggest reason why it didn’t feel real was this was something we had all been waiting on for a year and I couldn’t believe that it was finally happening. It wasn’t going to change much for me, but it was still a big deal.
I had my second vaccine appointment this past weekend, and it was a very different experience for me. First, I wasn’t worried about not being able to get my vaccine this time. Once you get the first vaccine, you are promised your second appointment. I know there have been issues with some vaccine locations having to cancel appointments because they didn’t get the vaccine delivered, but they always rescheduled them and it seemed like a very simple system. I also knew that I didn’t have to have any of the paperwork from my job like I brought with me the first time. And I knew much more about what to expect with the appointment so it wasn’t a big unknown for me. And I’ll admit it was nice to feel less stressed about going into my appointment.
I was still worried about passing out and all the other concerns I have with needles, but having normal worries was nice compared to all the extra worries I had before.
When I went in for my first vaccine, it was a pretty easy process. When I arrived they did a temperature check, I got some paperwork to fill out, they made my second appointment before I got the first vaccine, I went to the waiting area for them to call my name and had some time to play games on my phone to calm me down, and then after the vaccine I waited in a different waiting area for 15 minutes. I think from the time I arrived until I left was about an hour.
This time, things started the same. I got there and had a temperature check. They handed me the paperwork and asked me if it was my first or second vaccine. I told them it was my second and that I got the Pfizer vaccine. They walked me over to a desk where a nurse checked me in while I finished working on the paperwork. Last time, I was checking in for a few minutes but it took a little longer to do the paperwork, so I finished filling it out in the waiting area. This time, I asked them where the waiting area was so I could finish filling it out and they told me they were ready for me to go back for the vaccine!
They had changed things up a bit compared to a few weeks ago so they split up patients based on the vaccine they were getting. And that day, only a handful of us were getting the Pfizer vaccine, so they were pretty much ready for us the moment we walked in. I wasn’t expecting that and it was a bit of a whirlwind. But within 5 minutes of me arriving I was already in the post-vaccine waiting area!
I didn’t completely pass out for the shot this time, but I was really worried I would. Things happened so quickly and I didn’t have time to calm myself down. I’m glad that I was ok, but I’ve also learned how important it is for me to have the time to relax before a shot or IV.
Waiting in the post-vaccine waiting area was easy. You just have to be there for 15 minutes and then you can leave as long as you haven’t had any reactions. I didn’t have any immediate reactions (nor was I expecting to have any) so I was able to leave after the 15 minutes. And within 30 minutes of me parking my car, I was back in my car and ready to drive home! I was shocked how fast everything happened that I forgot to take a post-vaccine selfie in my car! And by the time I got home, I wasn’t feeling up for a photo so I only took a photo of my vaccine card.
And I did experience some side effects from the second shot, but nothing too horrible. I was very fatigued for about 2 days and needed to take some naps (although I’ve also been having other sleeping issues so I can’t guarantee this was just because of the shot). And I did get a bump that itched on my arm that lasted a little while. While it was not fun to have the bump on my arm, I didn’t consider it that big of a deal. Even if I had a fever or flu-like symptoms, it would have been worth it.
I’ll be considered fully vaccinated in about a week. But just like I wrote after my first vaccine, I’m not going to change my behavior too much. I might be more open to meeting up with a friend one on one without worrying as much as I’ve worried for the past year. And I’m looking into doing the OTF Outdoor workouts or the studio workouts when they reopen. But I’m still not going to go out that much and when I do run errands I’ll be wearing a mask. Things are finally starting to turn around a bit and we don’t want that progress to end or go back to how they were when things were much worse.
I do know I’m very lucky that I was able to get my vaccines done. But for others in California, it looks like they will have the same chance soon too! Vaccines are going to be opening up a lot in April. Starting on April 1st, everyone 50 and older will be eligible. And starting on April 15th, everyone 16 and older will be eligible! I know that it will still take time for everyone to get their vaccines, but this is still a great step forward and will just continue to make things safer for all of us!
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