Covid-19 Vaccine
Matt Seinberg

My wife and I had our second Moderna Covid-19 vaccination shots. Our reactions were quite different. The differences were akin to when we had COVID-19.

Different strokes for different folks.

When Marcy had the virus last year, she was sick for roughly two weeks, with fever, nausea, dizziness and fatigue. I was only sick for two days, with fatigue and dizziness. Since we both were on furlough from work it didn’t really matter.

That foreshadowed how we felt after getting the Moderna shots. Marcy was sick for three days after the first one; she had nausea, dizziness, fever and fatigue and stayed home from work for two days. Her right arm was red, swollen and really hurt.

After my first shot, I felt fine except for my left shoulder, which hurt. The next day at work my shoulder still hurt. As the day wore on, I felt very tired.

Luckily, Wednesday is a short day for me. When I got home, I dropped into bed. On Thursday I got up at my usual time, 7:45 am and decided that there was no way I was going to work. I could barely get out of bed, much less drive.

I stayed in bed all day, dozing, napping, watching television. Dakota, my little black cat, stayed with me most of the day, either on my lap or snuggled up to my shoulder. She is a good little nurse; except she can’t get me food or drinks.

As they say on television, “Wait, there’s more.” Marcy had her second shot this past weekend. Again, she felt the same way as before, only worse.

She didn’t go to work for two days because she had a 102-degree fever, body aches, sore arm, nausea, dizziness and fatigue. She didn’t even want to eat anything for most of that time. All she did was drink diet ginger ale. Finally, today, she felt well enough to go to work, though she was still tired; her arm was sore, too.

I had my second shot today

So far, I feel fine, not. I have a sore left arm. I’ll put an ice pack on it later while watching television.

By 10 pm, I felt like I was run over by a truck. I had all the symptoms of the Moderna vaccine. My body ached. I had a sore arm, a headache and was sleeplessness.

This is worse than when I had covid. Side effects really suck. No work that day, just staying in bed.

Melissa had her first Pfizer shot on Saturday and felt fine except for a sore arm. The funny thing is she had Covid-19, first, and felt the worst. She also had strep throat at the same time; she was quite miserable the entire time.

The vaccine truly affects people in different ways. A friend at work was terrified of getting it and had absolutely no side effects. Another guy was out for the count for three days.

My in-laws also had no side effects, probably because they didn’t have the virus. They were very careful the entire time and hardly ventured out of their house. Whatever they needed, Marcy got for them.

Now the question is if we going to need a booster shot in six months to keep our immunity up and will we have the same side effects?

I can’t wait until we don’t have to wear face masks anymore. Even though I have some nice ones. My favourites are Mickey Mouse themed. Still, I’m tired of foggy glasses and breathing in stale air when I’m at work.

Then there are the rocket scientists who wear their mask on their chins, or just below their nose. I truly dislike having to remind people to wear then correctly.

Vaccinate, now, and damn the short-run side effects.

We asked for the vaccine, and we got them in record time. If you have the chance to get it, please do so. You’re not only insuring safety for yourself, but friends, family and those around you.