Friends who are considering the vaccination have asked me to write about my experience. Some feel severe push-back from their anti-vaccination friends, and they have their own questions. Therefore, I will write about my experience, if it helps anyone make a decision.

For the writing of this vaccination testimonial, which will be fully in the first person, I am playing Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” on repeat, as she was an investor in the Moderna vaccine, which was the one I happened to take.

I was hoping for the Pfiezer/BioNTech one, when I learned that two of its driving forces in development were a married Muslim couple who were Turkish living in Germany (reading about them from different media sources is fascinating, like the New York Times article who doesn’t mention they are Muslim until the end of the article by way of mentioning that they won the Mustafa Prize, or this one from the MuslimMirror who refers to them as “The 55-year old physician and his 53-year old wife” when the “wife,” Özlem Türeci, M.D., is a is a physician, immunologist, and cancer researcher.

Some Stats

To give you an idea on what kind of testimonial you are reading, here are my stats as they pertain to COVID-19 and vaccinations:

• I have never taken the flu shot (based on no science, just my thoughts), though I did take the H1N1 vaccine because I was pregnant at the time and my doctor begged me to take it because of the complications from H1N1 to pregnant women and their fetuses. I had not given my children the flu shot until last year, after my son kept getting the flu so badly. The February 2020 version was the worst (I suspect it was COVID-19). They now will get the flu shot each year.

• I get all other vaccinations.

• I got COVID-19 in December 2020. It was a home-bound transmission.

• I got antibodies! Test revealed that they were there.

• I have asthma.

Social Pressures

My family was pretty concerned that I would not take COVID-19 jab, as they call it at the BBC, based on my flu shot tendency. My brother lovingly told me that my antibodies weren’t good enough. With a laugh, I told him I resented that statement, as I worked hard for those antibodies!

My sister and brother told me of a trend of women who were tending to not want to get vaccinated, perhaps due to gender-based medicine development that does not always look at how the female body will react. This was not a trend I wanted to be part of. I was fine with the COVID-19 vaccination. One stat that keeps me on board with it is the flu vs COVID-19 death rate, which pandemic-deniers held on to in the beginning of this pandemic, thinking COVID-19 not that bad.

Now that the data has been posted by the CDC, for the week of April 18, 2020, USA deaths involving the flu were 265. The number of COVID-19 deaths was 17,125. The week of April 3, 2021, USA deaths involving flu was 8. USA deaths involving COVID-19 was 2,350.

As for vaccine development in the same year as the virus it is trying to crush, I look at polio, and that rocky vaccine rollout, but remember that today, people generally don’t get polio because they are vaccinated. It used to be an every summer kind of thing, and kids had a good chance of getting paralyzed or dying. My grandmother got polio, and had bad arthritis ever since. I’ll be part of the group that tries for the vaccine.

My circle of friends are mostly ardent mask-wearers and waited with baited breath for the vaccination. They tend to do a lot of research of science (versus living through meme education - as much as I love memes).

I knew I was going to get the vaccination. It was just a matter of when.

Qualifications Of Who Can Take The Vaccination And When

Qualifications of who can get the vaccine when added to the social divide that the pandemic has also revealed. A friend who is Puerto Rican was getting their vaccination during the time of 50+ age group, which gave them the green light to get vaxxed. At the vaccination event, an elderly gentleman in line questioned my friend, stating: “You don’t look old enough to be here.”

It was not said in a positive way, as volunteers managing the vaccination event quickly approached the elderly man, stating an excuse for him that he is a Veteran and had been giving others trouble as well. Both the Puerto Rican friend, and another couple who was African American who he had also offended, had moved away from the gentleman, who was privileged enough to be able to stay where he was, while those around him did not want to be party to escalation.

Conspiracy Theories Scaring People About The Vaccination

I don’t understand the theories, especially the Bill Gates ones. That guy - and all of the tech giants - have had our data for quite some time. When the school lockdown happened, some parents were very afraid of Bill Gates taking over at that point. So far, no Bill Gates is in our Remote Learning, and we are still in Google Classrooms and Meets and on Google Chrome Books (Google is not owned by Bill Gates, and he’s probably always been jealous of Google and Apple). It’s Zoom safety I worry about! Which is totally different. I stick with GoToWebinar.

I can cook up a few good conspiracy theories, too. And do have some regarding the start of this entire pandemic, but none that influence the benefits of a world-wide vaccination. I’m in for the vaccination.

I think of India who lost control of the pandemic due in part to low vaccination rates, and other countries who are begging for vaccinations from other nations.

When To Get The Vaccination

While I am in the media, technically, I could have gotten it a little sooner. But I wasn’t comfortable doing so, with all of the emphasis on the vulnerable populations. This gave me time (an excuse) to wait. Wait to see how it was playing out in others. Which is a selfish position, being that we are all in this together, uncertain. It’s not like pandemics happen all of the time. Every one hundred years or so.

A friend who teaches part time at a college suddenly got an alert that they could get a shot. “Shall we make your appointment?” they asked. My friend froze - now confronted with the choice. This friend also was banking on more time to wait as they made up their mind, and as the qualifications blocked so many from getting vaccinated.

I had another reason (excuse) to wait - the daunting task of getting an appointment. Thanks to Vaccine Angles, ALBB readers got the directions on how to do book appointments using OCD! But I wasn’t about to start. Until…

Finding The Appointment - Underground Link Passed Via Text

My friend passed me a direct link to sign up with Dutchess County’s vaccine booker that my friend got from a friend, who got it from a friend, who got it from a friend. I never signed up with Dutchess County (had intended to, just hadn’t yet). When my friend passed me the link. This gave me no excuse but to sign up (I also pursued Dutchess County to ask why this easy link wasn’t made public, and that is a entirely different article). There were 118 slots left. I signed up myself and my husband, who is over 50. That day, people over 30 became “qualified.” I also qualified because of asthma and being in the media. I passed the link to another friend, but I don’t know if they pursued.

The Buddy System - Texting Buddies During Symptoms

During my actual COVID-19 episode, I was so grateful to be able to text close friends my symptoms as they happened. Friends and family would reach out, which made me feel safe. The friend who passed me the underground vaccination link had also signed up for the same event, so we were vaccinated on the same day. We stayed in text touch throughout, stating the different symptoms we were feeling.

My friend fully expected to be wiped out and got ready for bed, but was up all night. I ended up sleeping that night, but was jumpy the next day, and literally ran up and down my driveway to get my wiggles out. On the second vaccination shot, my friend was thoroughly wiped out, and took to the bed covers on the beautiful spring day we had this week to sleep away the fever.

Anti-Vax Buddies Who Do Not Support

Reports from 2 friends stated their their anti-vaccination friends went on the aggressive to convince them to not vaccinate. One friend stated that they were afraid to tell their anti-vax friend (this friend also would not get tested in order to travel out of state, back when the state-border lockdown was happening). After my friend confessed that she was getting her 2nd shot - which was her first confession of getting vaccinated at all - the anti-vaxx friend took to social media posting all of their own thoughts not based on science.

That friend has since calmed down, and the two of them went on a friend-date with a third friend. The third friend was vaccinated, and those “I’m vaccinated” statements went around before masks came down. The anti-vaxx friend stated that they had COVID-19 in the past and were all good. Which was a bold-face lie, as they had never even been tested, and refused tests. SMH.

My other friend was all signed up for an appointment, and told her friend the good news. That’s when this friend discovered that the other friend was an anti-vaxxer: “My friend turns out to have become an anti-vaxxer, and they sort of went nuts on me, and now I feel totally stressed out about it. Sorry to throw that at you, but I don’t know many people who are able to get the vaccine our age group yet, so I have to ask the people who already had it.” This was prior to the qualification dropping to 16+.

Symptoms During And After The 1st Vaccination Shot

My first shot wasn’t bad. My arm was completely stiff, and it just made me mindful of arthritis, that I needed to keep moving like I would in physical therapy if I needed mobility in the shoulder. It worked. Little movement to the shoulder throughout the day was all it needed.

Days prior to the first shot, my asthma was active for spring. During jogging sessions, I wanted my inhaler. After my shot, I had ghost feelings of my chest tightening, like I did during my real COVID-19 episode. After the vaccination got through my body, however, all of that went away. And my chest was actually more clear for a few weeks! I would go jogging and not need my inhaler.

My husband also got the shot when I did. He also had COVID-19 when I did. For the first vaccination, he had almost no reaction. Weeks later, however, a cyst that has been on his back for 20+ years got infected for the first time in decades. Coincidentally, he had a regularly scheduled appointment with his dermatologist, who declared that she had seen infections before with other people who had been vaccinated. She treated it with an antibiotic, and told him that she was still glad people were getting vaccinated. All is well with it.

Symptoms During And After The 2nd Vaccination Shot

I did pretty well, but I also had client meetings, so was up and prepared to be functioning. My body was sweating even if I was sitting still, so I wanted to move. I ended up running in the afternoon, to encourage the sweating (I love saunas and running in dry, hot weather!), and wow was I glad I was able to do that. Felt much better. But I was wiped out after. Ready for bed.

Even during the real COVID-19, my body craved outside fresh air. And stretching. Lots of stretching. After my run, however, my cramps kicked in, even though my cycle finished days prior. Perhaps that estrogen doing its good thing!

My texting-buddy friend fared worse. My friend was in bed with a 100 fever, saying “My whole body is one big cramp.” Lots of sleep later, and the symptoms were gone.

My husband also fared worse this round. He was super sweaty and had a fever of 100+ with Tylenol. I treated him with cold wash cloths while I fed the kids.

Public Health Messaging To Prepare For Expected Symptoms Of Vaccination

What has helped me take the COVID-19 vaccination was the amount of symptoms I was told to expect, both by public health professionals and friends via social media. Usually, people say with the flu: “I took the flu shot but I still got the flu.” Well, maybe you got symptoms of the flu to get it less. I will be taking the flu shot in the future.

As for known symptoms of COVID-19 that also appear in the vaccination - like blood clotting - these are important factors to talk to you doctor about and develop a plan. Research may still be coming as to what people with known conditions should do with regard to the vaccination. Multiple talks with your doctor would be wise.

Any Time I Doubt Precautions Like The Vaccination, I Think Of India, Brazil, Italy, New York in March-May

Fortunately, loved ones immediately around me are in good condition during this pandemic. Neighbors do not all have this situation. Beacon Councilperson Air Nonken Rhodes speaks frequently and frankly and with concern about the risks, mentioning when their neighbors are sick with COVDI-19, and how two of them in Beacon have died so far.

The news in India, with the crematoriums that are themselves melting from overuse, is just too heavy to bear. Why anyone would ignore these conditions happening around the world is beyond me. For those who want to leave everything to eating good and local food - how do you explain India? How do you explain Brazil? How do you explain New York in the beginning of the pandemic, when funeral homes in New York City were overwhelmed and crowded with coffins?

When I mention the high death rate in New York to some locals in Beacon, they rebut by saying that New York changed the cause of death. But the reality of overcrowded funeral homes and crematoriums is the ending fact. How do you rebut that?

In Beacon, our local funeral homes were crowded. One funeral director reached out to A Little Beacon Blog to confirm that they were very crowded.

Managing Your Symptoms During Your Vaccination

If you get vaccinated, here are some tips on how to feel as best as possible. Talk to your doctor, first of all. Second of all, everybody’s body is different.

• Drink the water. Hydration is key. As your body fights, it uses water. Dehydration can deplete your energy and cause other problems.

• Move your body. If you feel up to it. Ask your doctor, and if you’re too dizzy, don’t do it. But moving my body in a safe space helped me during COVID-19 and the vaccination. The blood flow from doing push-ups, for example, was really useful to bringing me to a place of feeling better for a bit. If I slumped back down, I’d do another set of Downward Facing Dog stretch, and pushups. A few leg lifts, and I was back to semi-normal.

• Sleep. Do let yourself sleep.

• Take the day off from work or school. Allow yourself to rest and your body to process.

Everyone is different. You may experience symptoms weeks after the vaccination. Or, if you are a long-hauler of COVID-19, months long symptoms may be lifting.

Whatever the result, here is hoping for the best for your health, and that of your family.