First Published: 9th of January, 2020.
Last updated: January 9, 2021 at 17:15 pmMr. Zaif Hanif is a Guyanese born US first responder who migrated to the United States in his late teens. He contracted COVID-19 a few months ago while responding to an emergency medical situation with a patient who was COVID-19 positive. He subsequently took the COVID-19 vaccine after recovering. This is his story.
If you plan on getting the COVID-19 Vaccine, here’s what the process/side effects were for me. We all react uniquely to each vaccine. My experience/side effects mightn’t be yours.
Day 0- sign up and receive confirmation.
Day 1- show up, provide ID, get screened for covid/flu-like symptoms. The process of getting the shot is very standard, just like the flu vaccine. You feel a tiny pinch followed by a bit of pressure. Next you hang out in a waiting room for 15 minutes for observation. No side effects within the first 12 hours.
Day 2 – low grade fever, body aches and a headache. During the night, the body aches got a bit more intense but not as bad as when I had COVID.
Day 3- side effects slowly subsided, a bit of redness and tenderness where I got the shot. If the goal of this vaccine is to alert your body then (from my experience) it does an awesome job from a symptomatic standpoint. The side effects I experienced were identical to the initial COVID symptoms down to the order in which they started and subsided.
A bit of advice: take the shot on the less dominant shoulder, stock up on some drinks containing electrolytes (propel, gatorade or Pedialyte). Consult with your healthcare provider about an appropriate fever reducer/pain killer which you can use. The overall experience wasn’t bad at all.
