Bit the bullet & got my first shot of Phizer a few days ago. Side effects so far:
1. Was good for a few hours, then felt like I got hit by a truck. I'm not a napper but I passed out for like 4 hours straight, just dropped like a rock. Second day was pretty low-key, felt like I was wearing one of those lead vests you put on for X-rays. No fever tho. But I have literally
double bags under my eyes, super strange!
2. Ever had one of those tiny chocolate Easter egg candies with the foil wrap on it & accidentally bit into it? That foil taste that zings your tastebuds? My mouth has tasted like that all week. Like a mouth full of pennies.
3. The needle was tiny, quick, and painless. Didn't hurt until the second day, now it feels Jason Bourne stabbed a pen into my bicep lol. Minimal visible swelling, however. But literally feels like a pen is inside my arm when I move it around.
My wife had the first two (nap/fatigue & metal taste) but not the arm pain. The latest I'm hearing is that you get 90 days of immunity if you get & survive COVID, and at least 6 months if you get the vaccine:
Pfizer said its vaccine can protect against Covid-19 for at least six months, but experts say that protection will likely last longer.
www.cnn.com
Phizer is planning on studying subjects for 2 years & says things are looking good 6 months in:
New analysis of the vaccine’s performance in 46,307 people enrolled in the Phase 3 trial found efficacy of 91.3% for at least six months after getting the second dose.
www.wsj.com
Although it looks like Moderna starts waning after 6 months:
www.boston25news.com
I have a friend who works on vaccines & explained the current & future setup: basically the RNA stuff is like a computer platform with a cage & a case & all of the parts, and because they have that sled setup now, they can swap stuff out as needed, so in theory it should be pretty easy to adjust for future variations & get booster shots & whatnot. They're already testing a third booster shot:
Already an easier-to-spread version of the coronavirus found months ago has become the most common variant now circulating in the United States.
www.king5.com
The problem is that they don't know exactly how long the current vaccines will last & also want to be very careful about modifying it for future virus mutations because they are closely monitoring the side effects.
I was on the fence about getting it, because I had a bad experience with antibiotics in the past that kind of wreck my health for twenty years, but after learning how how they make vaccines today (much better process), as well as the huge daily death numbers, I figure it's the lesser of two evils. On the flip side, I also feel extremely grateful that (1) I was able to get the vaccine, and (2) there are lots of smart people putting in a lot of hard work into getting this thing going. For me in particular, I have somewhat poor health (asthma, digestive allergies, etc.), so despite my initial worries about a fast-tracked vaccine, I feel better knowing I've done what I can to take control of my health future, given the current circumstances.
I also feel very fortunate to have received a vaccine at all, as a lot of countries don't have much, if any, access to vaccines. Brazil has climbed up to US death rates recently & one of their vaccine options only has like a 50% effectiveness rate:
Brazil on Sunday recorded 1,803 new COVID-19 deaths, as a large study found that a Chinese vaccine that has become the linchpin in the country's vaccination campaign is 50.7% effective against the infectious new homegrown variant known as P1.
jp.reuters.com
I also understand why people are hesitant about it. Probably about 50% of the people I know personally & professionally have stated they won't be taking the vaccine. As someone who was personally affected by the unknown side effects of medical technology, I can certainly understand the anxiety. For me, a number of factors contributed to me making the decision to take it. Only downside is no free 5G in my body yet
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