029BF: My First Jab

Post-Vaccine Lollipop Table

Metro Manila Community Quarantine - Day 434

So I finally got vaccinated for COVID-19 today. It's been a weird little emotional (and overthinking) rollercoaster over the past week or so. At first, I wasn't even sure if I was truly eligible as an A3 to get the vaccine given how mild my asthma has been in recent years, but I got over that and quickly got myself assessed (sorta) and then properly scheduled for the shot today. How quickly things shifted from uncertainty to getting things done.

The process here in Taguig was surprisingly easy, starting from the fact that we're allowed to choose our own vaccination schedules and even which testing site we want to go to. I showed up a little late for my 12:00pm appointment since I was determined to get a workout in this morning before getting the shot. There was no queue outside and I immediately got directed to the initial registration where they scanned the QR code of my appointment slip and gave me the forms and vaccination booklet that I'd carry from station to station in this whole process. 

I didn't have to wait too long to get through the screening and counseling stations where they took my vitals, confirmed my health information including my comorbidity, and already gave me a quick run-down of the potential side-effects of the vaccine and what I could do to address them should they come up. My second-longest wait was for the actual shot since I was among other first-shot folks, but it really wasn't all that long. 

The actual injection was a little anti-climactic. It was just another quick reconfirmation of whether or not I had certain comorbidities, and then the shot, and then another reminder of all the different remedies for the possible side effects. Then my longest wait was the post-shot monitoring and making sure I didn't collapse or something. But really I didn't feel anything significant and I missed the first few times they called my name apparently because I was busy updating my family as to what was going on.

The whole process took me less than an hour, which is pretty great for what is still a government process, and historically we don't have a strong track record for government being efficient. And maybe sharing my experience with friends and family will help encourage more to get vaccinated sooner, especially in Taguig.

It has been over 10 hours since my vaccination and haven't experienced any serious side effects thus far. My arm has been tingly for most of the day and there's a mild ache/pain/numbness that has been radiating out from the injection point and has expanded to at least my elbow and sometimes to my wrist, but only on my left side. There's a similar feeling in my left leg now, but I'm not sure if that's vaccine-related or more because of my exercise this morning or all the walking I've still done in order to hit my daily step obligation goal.

At least I was still able to play in our online session of Pendragon today. I was worried that I'd be down for the count and in need of rest after the vaccination, but I was able to keep my faculties about me in order to get through the game. I'll continue to monitor how I feel over the next 48 hours or so and see how it goes, but at least this first step is done. My mom is getting vaccinated tomorrow and my dad will follow on Monday morning. Then I'm just most concerned for Tobie and my brother since they're not part of any of the priority groups at the moment, so them getting vaccinated will take a fair amount of time. 

And hopefully, we reach a point where enough of us are safely vaccinated so we can consider meeting up with friends again. Slowly but surely trying to get back to a more normal life. 

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