On Wednesday morning, over February break, I received my second dose of the Moderna vaccine. As expected, the side effects from the second dose were more apparent than the first. This time, the actual injection itself hurt, but that may be from the injector’s technique. Several hours later, I began to experience body aches, chills, and a lot of pain around the injection site. Symptoms resolved within 48 hours.
Everyone is strongly encouraged to get vaccinated as soon as any authorized vaccine becomes available to them. Do not pass on one because another may cause less side effects. Each individual immune system is unique. If you experience noticeable, common, side effects after vaccine administration, rest assured, your body is just doing it’s job. It is eliciting an immune response to produce antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Like all viruses, Covid, may never be truly eradicated. However, vaccines make these viruses less worrisome in everyday life. If, and when, you are exposed to Covid in the future, your body will be able to recognize the virus and suppress it. More simply put, vaccination prevents the risk of critical, or fatal, Covid infections.
Vaccination eligibility for educators and essential workers has, once again, been pushed back to March 15th. While this news is frustrating, it is important to focus on the positives. Studies show potential to free up doses as there is strong evidence of vaccine efficacy after the first dose. Also, people previously infected with Covid, may only need one dose to get the necessary level of antibodies for immunity. Johnson & Johnson’s, single-dose, Covid-19 vaccine is up for FDA approval today at 5:30pm. A one dose vaccine increases accessibility, makes distribution significantly easier and improves vaccination compliance.
