This is a very interesting article in our state of CT Patch discussing points about the current vaccines and new ones to come:
https://patch.com/connecticut/across-ct/3-coronavirus-vaccines-now-available-ct-how-do-they-differ
Hi @deetoo. Thanks for asking. So far so good. We went to the medical complex at U of Louisville. It was super organized. We were in and out (it was drive thru) in less than 40 minutes. Compared to other locations here in town that was fast! I had a little soreness in my arm and fatigue. I had a little stiffness this morning but Advil took care of that. My BFF is a type one diabetic, we went together, she had a rough night but was feeling better this morning. We were given our appointment for our second shot yesterday, which I am very thankful for! Ours was Pfizer.
My vaccine saga continues. First, I want to acknowledge that I know many people who haven't had a single issue with their vaccine schedule and that my case is the exception rather than the rule.
A quick recap: My school district scheduled our vaccinations and I received my first Pfizer dose with zero issues. But, an unanticipated trip to the ER included a tetanus shot which, despite repeatedly asking if it would hinder my second shot (I was told no) did in fact delay my second shot. I was in the chair and about to get the poke when the nurse asked the questions on the form again and told me I couldn't get my second dose because of the tetanus shot. She said I would be put on a wait list, gave me a new vaccination card that said my first shot was the day of my second shot and sent me on my way.
My older brother works on the statewide task force that oversees vaccinations and today while working a clinic he checked the system they're using. I was not, in fact, on the waiting list. In fact, they had recorded that I received my second dose on March 6th - the day they sent me out without it.
Because of his position, he did two things - he got me on the wait list for my health department, and proceeded to schedule an appointment for a second Pfizer dose on March 21st (5 weeks after dose 1) all the way on the other side of the state, the only place he could get me in.
I'm grateful he got me in, and grateful to know the saga will end next Sunday if not sooner, but I'm angry at the ER for giving me false information and the nurse at the clinic who assured me I was on the wait list. The health department does not answer their phones (or voicemail messages) as I learned after calling them multiple times last week to make sure I was in the system. I don't know how people who don't have a brother on the statewide vaccine task force could navigate a similar issue when they won't let you into the building, won't answer the phones, and won't return messages. I also have to lie and say I lost my vaccination card since they took my original and gave me a new one with an incorrect date. This is so frustrating. My county is the ONLY deep red county on the Michigan COVID map right now, and my kids school is out of control spread right now. (Middle school just shut down, HS is close. Two neighboring districts have gone remote again)
After unable to get a vaccination appointment from the nearest pharmacies at our homes, my parents could get an appointment with the family doctor. The ones from the pharmacies only limit to people 65 and over.
Hi All,
Hubby and I completed both Pfizer vaccines. My dad got his too. My daughter and her BF are scheduled to get either Pfizer or J&J this coming week. I want to share some really important info that the medical professionals shared with us at length (we were volunteering at a vaccine superstation so we had some time to chat here and there).
- DO NOT take any ibuprofen for pain or fever for 48 hours post vaccine. Tylenol is ok if it's really bad, but try to resist. The reason for this is that the new vaccines target your immune system very specifically, and you want as much inflammatory reaction as possible. That way, you know the shot is working.
- It takes two weeks post second vax to be considered "fully vaccinated".
- ALL of the approved vaccines have reduced risk of mortality to near zero, and have greatly reduced risk of serious disease, so get whichever one you can asap.
- I observed about 5,000 people get first and second shots, NO ONE had a severe adverse reaction of any kind. If they tell you to hang out for 15-30 minutes, do it anyway to be safe.
- The second shot WILL knock you off your butt from about 8 to 24 hours after the shot, if you can, plan ahead and try to take a day off from life to relax, watch junk tv, and let your immune system get to work.
- Because these shots are mRNA based, and because there are new variants, we may all need a booster next fall or winter. The good news is this new tech is easy to tweak quickly.
- AS SOON AS YOU GET YOUR SHOT(S) - like immediately - take a pic of the card or paperwork with your phone that shows date, lot, etc.
- Send the pic to your own email, and archive it there and/or download it.
- Send the pic to your PCP.
- Make several copies. Shrink it down if you need to, to make it more portable.
- Laminate them (we went to Kinko's but clear contact paper works too).
- Keep one with your passport or other travel documents or birth certificate.
- Keep one in your wallet. Good to have it on you in case of emergency, and also to prove you are fully vaccinated. (Showed mine at my first massage appointment in 14 months today, just for the masseuse's peace of mind.)
Hope everyone is well, I'm starting to socialize with other friends who are also fully vaccinated and looking forward to resuming some semi-local travel soon, with my husband, daughter and her bf.
BTW - here in Southern CA vaccine distribution is very messed up. It's nearly impossible to find an appointment unless you keep a tab open on your laptop or desktop browser and keep refreshing it every 10 minutes. And in my county the priorities remain restrictive and f*ed up.
They tell elderly and others who don't have internet access to call 211, but I tried doing that to schedule our second doses only to be told 211 can't help.
@laura-f, thanks for taking the time to share all of that information. Really valuable stuff. I didn't know about waiting at least two days before taking the anti-inflammatories. Love the suggestion of taking pics of your paperwork.
I do know some fully vaccinated people who have had different reactions to the second dose: many had the knocked-out symptoms you described, anywhere from 12-48 hours; some experienced very mild, flu-like symptoms; and some literally felt nothing after the second dose, other than a sore arm. Interestingly the people I know who had no reactions were all seniors. I do agree it's best to be prepared. I had my first dose two weeks ago. Felt fine for two days, then got hit with bad fatigue and chills (no fever) for about two days.
I'm sorry about the problems you experienced with scheduling your second dose. How were you finally able to accomplish that? It's crazy that second dose scheduling wasn't automatically built into the system after you've had the first shot. Who is in charge of the vaccine distribution in Southern California?
I also want to thank you for all the information you imparted to us. I also didn't know about ibuprofen. Sounds like both S. California and Michigan ( @Dannyboy ) are having problems getting their act together. I know hit has been difficult for MA as well.
It is a shame since we all knew we would have vaccines at around this time months ago. There should have been better prep on the states part even if our inept former occupier in chief failed to lead on a national level.
In AZ, our Gov. Ducey actually made an apology about how difficult it has been to schedule an appointment.
Because people over the age of 60-65 have weaker immune systems overall, their reactions are more likely to be milder unless they had COVID. People who recovered from it are getting hit pretty hard after both shots.
The second dose was supposed to be automatic. We were told we'd get an email (there's a state registry you sign up for when you get your first dose), but as the day got closer, no email. That's when I started cruising the appointment links and tried to call 211 to no avail. The day before we were supposed to get our second, we finally got emails, saying we are booked for second dose several days late, and they booked me and hubby to two different sites on two different days. I accepted the assigned slots but then I took a gamble and literally kept refreshing the appointments pages every hour or so, and lo and behold, they opened up the Sunday that we needed (Feb 28) at the site we preferred. So I grabbed those and as soon as I got the confirmation of those appointments I went back in to the assigned appointments and cancelled them.
We also decided to go ahead and volunteer again the day of second dose, which was fun. We weren't scheduled, and they were going to turn us away, saying "If you're here volunteering as a way to get your second shot we can't do it today, you have to go online and get an appointment." They were turning away all non-registered volunteers too ("crashers"). We explained to the coordinator that we actually had appointments for later that day and she told us to go ahead and cut all lines and get them prior to starting our shift. Big *whew* on that.
Distribution is from the state to each county. Each county has its own rules and distribution system. I could rant again on my hatred for patchwork systems, but I'll refrain for now. Suffice to say that here in San Diego hubby and I still wouldn't qualify for even a first or single dose, even though we have significant risk factors and are 60, they JUST opened it to teachers in the last 2 weeks (because they want to reopen K-12 schools in April) and it's mostly through for-profit healthcare systems. The vax sites themselves are very well organized, it's just that the system is set up to disenfranchise anyone who is under 65 and and anyone who doesn't have fast internet access. Without having volunteered for the first dose, we'd still be waiting. My daughter and her bf qualify as essential workers.
I can officially say now that my mom and I got vaccinated now (yeah!). We got the one dose J&J one. We got ours done at a drive thru set up at a local college by the military. The soldiers were really nice and it was all over in about 20 some odd minutes. We arrived about 20 minutes early and they told us no problem as they had people coming sometimes up to two hours earlier than their appointments. My arm was a bit sore and I overall felt tired last night. My joints were really sore too but I wasn't sure how soon after the vaccine you could take like advil or tylenol so I didn't take anything last night and did have trouble trying to get to sleep but not much notice of anything today. It is a relief. My mom is in her 70's and could have gotten hers about a week or two ago but had trouble getting the 2nd appointment set up so she waited. They opened the age range to include mine and added the J&J one so we went with that one. I'm just happy to know my mom got hers. We don't have tons of contact with my family but over 12 of them got covid this last year and I was always worrying about my mother getting it. I hope things work out for everyone who hasn't gotten theirs yet and for anyone they are worrying about getting it too ? . @laura-f I also appreciate the advice you all posted on keeping extra copies which I hadn't thought about doing. ?
For anyone here who is frustrated with trying to set up vaccine appointments, and especially if you live in Mass, there are volunteers in Mass who have figured out how to get an appointment and they helped us. They are tech savvy and figured out how to navigate the state's horrific decentralized vaccine system.
They mentioned they might try to do it in other states, especially since as of Friday, Massachusetts finally set up a supposedly better system for people.
If you or a friend are able to get in touch with this volunteer group, they might be able to help you.
The second link is their resource page. Although it is for Massachusetts, there are some tips on how to get your computer to alert you to openings, how to get your computer to automatically fill out forms and auto-refresh. Apologies if this doesn't help you. But you never know!
Here is a resource site they set up for Mass which isn't your state, but it might provide some tips. https://macovidvaxhelp.com/resources
Thank you Jeanne. I had just deleted my post because I felt it was kind of whiny.
I was able to register with something similar today, volunteers to help with appointments in my state. I remain a little hopeful.
@ghandigirl Let us know what happens. You were not at all whiny, by the way. I thought I was going to go crazy until I found these young women. Trying to get an appointment on my own was soul crushing. I was so cynical when I filled out their information. Then, bingo, they got back to me ten days later with an appointment. Not only was I happy about the appointment, but I couldn't believe someone out there was going to do this for me. It is an amazing feeling to connect with someone who just wants to help people and then to let yourself be vulnerable enough to receive it.
Update! The health department called and have scheduled me for Dose 2 tomorrow. I'm not canceling my "across the state" appointment on Sunday until the shot is in my arm, but I'm excited.
@lovendures - I want to clarify my case was the exception rather than the rule. Everyone I know of who has been able to get the vaccine has reported things went really smoothly. While my non-essential family members are starting to get frustrated that they haven't been called yet, they're still finishing the Phase 1B here and are planning on having it open to all by the beginning of April which is fantastic! My overall concern though is for people in the very small group like myself that didn't get their second one on schedule. :-)
Here is what The NY Times is saying about people's reaction to the vaccine. Women tend to react more than men to vaccines in general and the Covid vaccine is no different.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/08/health/vaccine-side-effects-women-men.html
As for taking Tylenol, I'm going to follow @laura's suggestion to avoid it. I'm getting my second dose tomorrow and hoping I will be well enough to make the Circle of Light tomorrow night.
The good part is where they say that these reactions are a sign that the vaccine is working.
@dannyboy Glad you are getting yours sorted out. We registered with Meijer Pharmacy (major grocery store here in Michigan, for those of you elsewhere) and my husband got his call just last week and is scheduled for this Friday. I am eligible as of March 22 (due to my asthma - it opens up to 16+ with a medical condition.) So, hoping things continue to roll out smoothly across the state.
My husband knew of an elderly friend who was able to get scheduled via a Vaccine Angels group, similar to what Jeanne described but for Michigan -- not sure they are still operating, though (couldn't find the details just now.)