A Personal Vaccine Experience

Our friend, Kris, received her first coronavirus vaccine this week and she has been kind enough to tell us about her experiences. 

Kris, how did you get on the list to get a shot?

I am an occupational therapist in a health care system in west Michigan.  My job is at a large inpatient hospital where patients with covid 19 have been seen since March.  All staff are given the option to receive the shot.

Where did you have to go and who gave you your shot?

All staff received a survey via our work email asking whether or not we were willing to be vaccinated.  At this time, it is not mandatory for our facility.  I responded in the affirmative and was contacted by phone Wednesday evening to set up an appointment.  They had an opening on Thursday (12/31/20) and that's when I went.  The hospital system is very large and they have multiple sites for receiving the vaccination.  Mine was on-site at the auditorium and they had a very organized setup to check in staff, send us to get our shots, and then had a socially distanced area in the auditorium seats where we were instructed to wait for 15 minutes to ensure we were doing well before we left.  A nurse administered the shot.

Which version of the vaccine did you receive?

Pfizer

Both approved vaccines have to be stored at very low temperatures. Did they warm it up before they administered it?

I'm not sure what they did--there were men dressed in fatigues who would wheel crates of the vaccine in (which I'm assuming had been stored at the low temperatures).  It didn't feel cold when they administered it to me. I'm not sure whether or not the men were from the National Guard, but it was interesting to me to see people not dressed in typical hospital gear.

Where did they give the shot? In your arm?

Yes, my dominant (right) arm

Compare it to a flu shot? How did it feel? Does it have to go into the muscle? 

It was very similar to a flu shot.  I barely felt it when it went in to the muscle but as the afternoon progressed my arm became sore.

Did you do anything extra before or after the shot such as taking ibuprofen?

I took a couple of Tylenol about 6 or 7 hours after receiving the vaccine.

How many days has it been since you had the shot? Have you had any reaction to it?

It's been one day and so far, my only reaction has been pain.  It has felt very similar to receiving the flu shot.  

How will you be scheduled for the follow-up shot?

I am already scheduled for my 3 week follow up shot.  I was given a vaccine history card which I am to take with me at that time.

Did you have any hesitations before you took the vaccine? What did you consider when 
you were making your decision to take it?

Oh, I definitely had reservations about taking the vaccine.  I was concerned about the speed at which the vaccine(s) have been developed and the overall safety.  I spent some time reading up on my concerns, which included some information given to us at our health care system.  

On a professional level, the impacts have been severe.  I haven't worked with many covid patients but having the strict protocols for visitors has been hugely detrimental both for our patient's emotional mindset as well as for my ability to do my job well.  One of the main things I do is to assess a patient's overall function (physical, cognitive, sensory, visual, and so on) and see if they are safe to return home or if they need to go to an inpatient rehab setting.  I gain a lot of information from family as well as the patient when I evaluate them and it's very hard to make an informed, safe discharge decision for them when family can't be physically present (and calling on the phone is not the same--it's so helpful for family to see how their family member is functioning in real time).  

I did work with a patient who had covid but was taken off the super strict restrictions (we still had to wear an N95 mask with her but didn't have to suit up like a space monster) earlier this week.  She was in her 60s (which is NOT OLD!), had been in the hospital for 2 weeks, and it took 2 of us to help her sit at the edge of the bed.  She was still too weak to support herself and the staff person had to support her from behind.   I had her comb her hair and she was so weak, she could only reach the front part of her hair.  She was only able to sit up for about 15 minutes. I think this is the part that the general public doesn't understand about the disease.  You can survive it but the road to recovery is achingly long and so frustrating for everyone.  It will be months, if ever, before this woman is at her pre-covid baseline.  In answer to your question, June, I want to be part of the solution to prevent this kind of thing ripping people's lives apart.

The other side of my motivation is personal.  I have an elderly mother who is in an assisted living facility. Even though she is under hospice care, family still isn't allowed to see her in person unless she is "actively dying".  I am hoping that if the residents are vaccinated, and I am vaccinated, that I can see her in person and give her hugs.  

I wanted to add, in addition to your questions, that we staff were given the option of signing up with a CDC program called V-Safe.  We could sign up for it via our smartphone's browser.  It's a tool that uses text messaging and surveys to provide health check-ins after getting your vaccine and it is also supposed to give you reminders of your second dose of the vaccine.  I'm not sure if everyone will be given the option to do this but it was interesting to me.  I decided to go ahead with it in the hopes that the information is helpful for the general public.  I've completed 2 surveys now and they are quick and easy to do.  

I hope my responses were helpful!  I'm by no means an expert, but I would be happy to try to answer any questions about my experience.

This was very informative, Kris, and I know it helped me to understand the whole process better. Thank you. 

Also, I am so thankful for the job that you do. It's such an important one and I appreciate extra sacrifices you make in these days of COVID-19.