My tryst with COVID-19 vaccine!!

I GOT VACCINATED…yay!! 🙂

In my last post I had explained about the COVID-19 vaccine in detail.

Despite myself being a  health worker and knowing all the benefits of getting vaccinated, there was still some apprehension. Reason of this anxiety being rapid introduction of a new vaccine and thereby doubts about its efficacy and side effects.

When the information about where to get myself vaccinated came to me, this apprehension grew in my family. Especially my 9 year old, he was totally against to get vaccinated. When asked why he was scared, the answer was that everybody, everywhere was talking about side effects including the media, friends and relatives. Somehow, we as humans always have a tendency to look and think more about the negative aspects of things rather than the positive side. It took a lot of patience to explain him about the benefits of the vaccine. Getting vaccinated presently is more important from kids perspective as we still don’t have a vaccine for them and the only way I can offer him protection is myself not getting that disease. I was finally able to relieve his anxiety and when the D-Day came, he happily sent me for the same. (We even clicked a picture when I came back, so that we remember this important event in our lives).

On the scheduled day, I went to the allotted center and it took hardly a couple of minutes for me to get the jab after a brief medical history was taken by the vaccinator. I dint get to choose the vaccine though. I was asked to wait for the required 30 mins after the jab and then sent home.

I was feeling ok. In various friend and colleagues groups, they had posted about the side effects which they had post vaccination. But 24 hrs went by and I was as ok as a horse, slogging my day, doing my daily chores.

24 hours later it began, starting as a nagging discomfort in the back, gradually increasing in an hour to severe backache, which got relieved only by a pain killer. By next 6 hrs, as the effect of pain killer weaned off, I had to taken another dose. Next day after a good 8 hrs sleep, I was feeling better, but as I was having a toast, I felt a subtle bitter taste in my mouth. Thinking the food had gone bad, I asked my son and my husband who were having the same thing, but they dint feel anything. Thinking of myself as an early picker of food getting bad, I drank water and to my surprise water also tasted bitter.  This lasted for few hours and then I was ok. Now 48 hrs later, I don’t have any backache or bitter taste in my mouth but I do have pain, redness at the injection site, which I am hoping will also go away soon.

This is it… some might say that I had so many side effects, but from my point of view, this is a minor hassle as compared to getting COVID-19 disease. Any vaccination can have these side effects. In my eyes, to not get yourself vaccinated thinking that something might happen can be compared to not going out in vehicles for the fear of getting in an accident.

A lot many corollaries can be given, but the crux is this….our life is precious and its worth taking a risk for. We have to always weigh risk vs benefit. Definitely the vaccine had its side effects but  I know its positive effects will be much more, to myself, my family and the people around me…!!

I’m now eagerly waiting for my 2nd dose!! Obviously I will be still using the PPE but in my heart I know, I will not be the one transmitting the disease to my loved ones!!

So keep calm and get vaccinated whenever your turn comes…..Don’t hesitate…!!

#getvaccinated #staysafe

#healthykids #happykids

Dr Garima Garg Seth|http://themoppetsclinic🙂