Shot Two Towards A Hopeful Future

 I just got my second dose of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and I’ll be notating how I feel through the next 48+ hours. Join me on this voyage!

Four weeks after I was fortunate enough to get my first shot in the COVID-19 vaccine series, I was able to get that wondrous second dose. I made sure to notate every step of this second dose journey.

For this inoculation, I didn’t have to navigate a single website, make a phone call, or email anyone. This appointment was scheduled for me, on-site, during my first shot visit. All I had to do was walk the 8 and a half minutes from my home to the vaccine site.

Once I was there, I noticed a stark difference in the site from the last time I visited a month ago. The main difference between this visit and last, you might ask?

A line.

There were about 20 people in what Ralph the security guard called “The walk-up line”.

The walk-up line was full of a mix of demographics. From the moment I got there, the walk-up line was moving decently and there was a steady stream of people replenishing those passing through it. With my appointment being scheduled ahead of time, I had the privilege of skipping that line altogether. 

Ralph directed me towards another queue, the empty one for those with an appointment. I awkwardly snaked through the empty line, as those in the walk-up queue looked on with a bit of envy, up to the appointment table.

After the receptionist, Maricela who’s been doing this since the start, shot me in the head with a laser to ensure I didn’t have a temperature, they took my vaccine card to confirm I was there on the right day and at the correct time. Maricela then squirted a copious amount of hand sanitizer into both my hands. After the 15 seconds it took them to verify my appointment information, they ushered me towards another empty queue.

I meandered through yet another empty velvet-roped maze that lead to the sea of information input takers (who really lack in the cool name department). These are the folks that typically ensured you were in fact eligible for the vaccine and helped input your information for record-keeping at the state and federal level.

I got greeted with a flash of a laminated green card and walked over to Marissa, my personal intake specialist for the day. They helped verify that my second dose was to be Moderna, so as not to mix anything up, and that my health insurance was on file, though the shot has no cost to you or your insurance. In fact, if you don’t have insurance they provide you options and resources if you’re interested.

After another extremely brief interaction, I was directed towards another line.

This line was split into two groups, those waiting for the first dose and those waiting for the second. I was in the latter of course, and only had one person in front of me and one behind during my line waiting time.

The large Werner Convention Hall on the Western Oregon Universities campus has been transformed these last few months. Instead of being a place of study or teaching, it’s now a location of immunization. Set up such as half the space is dedicated to a resting time after you get your shot, and the other half are seats to sit in while you’re injected. 

After a few minutes of socially distanced line waiting, I sat down at my table, one of the green ones that signified you’re getting the second dose (the blue tables are dedicated to the first dose only), ready to embark on being fully inoculated. My nurse, Heather, a veteran of the career for over 30 years, got my left arm prepped for the incoming needle. Half to distract myself and half to better get a scale of how this operation works, I struck up small talk with Heather.

As Heather injected my arm with the innovative vaccine, they let me know that on average they get to give about 50-100 shots a day, five days a week these days. Heather has been doing this since January and has noticed a good-sized surge ever since the vaccine opened up to the general public. 

That’s great news for all Oregonians.

As of the day I received my second dose, in Oregon over 3.05 million doses have been given, 1.29 million people are fully vaccinated, and we’re at 30.5% of our population fully vaccinated. If we continue with these numbers we’ll hopefully be able to celebrate birthdays in large numbers again. Maybe gather for summer events like concerts and festivals. At the very least, perhaps we’ll be able to gather in classes once again and see LB’s campus in full splendor this fall. But to get to those exhilarating activities, we all have to do our part.

Once Heather bandaged my injection site, I was handed a sticker and lead to the other half of the convention floor, the waiting area. 

The waiting area was brimming with post-jabbed individuals, unlike the last time I was here. That’s because of the vaccine being opened to the public and the fact that they had many walk-up people willing to do their part to help end this pandemic.

Right off the bat, I felt the difference between the first and second shots. This go-round my arm was sore within the first five minutes. As I sat in the waiting area texting my wife, I felt the tightness grow in my left arm. When the mandatory 15 minutes were up and I was free to start my short walk home, I was in great spirits despite having a slightly sore left arm. 

We ran a few errands after I received my shot. I didn’t notice any growing discomfort or other side effects while we were out and about. 

I arrived home, about four hours after my shot, and got ready for my Zoom class. During that time of sitting, learning, and typing, I felt my arm again begin to get tighter. By the end of the hour-long course and about five hours post shot, I was already having a hard time lifting my left arm above my shoulder.

I also got exceedingly hungry out of nowhere.

I ate more carbs than I’d care to admit for the next hour and by about six or so hours after my shot, I felt exhausted. I harkened back to the advice Heather had given me in which they said “if you start to feel tired, lay down and rest. Don’t fight it as it’ll just prolong and you’ll just get more tired”.

So with that, I laid down and took an unexpected nap.

I awoke from my nap about four hours later, extraordinarily thirsty, though I’d had an abundance of water in the day. I was also still quite tired and my left arm felt as though it was simultaneously struck by a horse and sat in front of a heater for the last hour. Though my arm was much more warm and sore this shot versus my first, it was actually far less swollen.

I got up, got a snack and another Hydro Flask of cold water, and laid back down for the night.

I awoke again around 4 a.m., now about 18 hours from when I received my dose, with a very achy body and a slightly nauseated stomach. It felt as though I had the flu but without any fever or sweating. My joints and my neck were all very stiff and sore and I had a bit of a headache.

I went and got myself more water, turned on some YouTube, one of the “Unsolved Supernatural” season marathons by the BuzzFeed Unsolved Network (it helps me sleep), and covered my eyes.

I tossed and turned for a bit.

I attribute that to a mix of the aches and pains I was feeling in my joints and not being able to roll onto my left side as I’m a roller sleeper. I did, however, drift off to sleep again.

I awoke for the day around 9 a.m. Just about 23 hours from when I was administered the second shot. I felt just as bad as I did at 4 a.m. I honestly didn’t want to get up and would have laid there longer if not for the fact that it was week five and I had midterms and homework to do.

I stumbled downstairs, got another full Hydro Flask of water (no this post is not sponsored by Hydro Flask, though they are killer water bottles), and started working.

Even with a solid amount of typing, my arm never really was impacted or hurt extra from it. I honestly didn’t notice the soreness of my arm until I got up and stretched or if my kiddo accidentally knocked it while giving me a hug, a pain that I would happily endure without question or comment. No, most of what day two consisted of was feeling achy in my joints, having on again off again headaches, and getting tired and taking impromptu naps sporadically throughout the day.

By the evening of day two, 33-34 hours after my shot, 3 short naps, and 2 liquid gel ibuprofens later, I was already starting to feel much better. I went to bed that night around 10 p.m. after playing an hour or so of “New Pokemon Snap” (a very amusing and enjoyable game I may review at some point in the future) with my wife.

I slept comfortably through the night and arose the next day, day three, roughly 48 hours post jab, feeling like me. The only lingering issue is the soreness of my vaccinated arm. It feels great but still is a bit tender to the touch. I’d describe it as a bruise. It doesn’t hurt unless someone or something strikes it, and even then it dissipates quickly.

I’m now writing this 56 hours out from getting my second dose and simply two weeks from complete immunization. I look at this wild event we’re living through as our chance to be a part of something bigger. 

I wasn’t around during the 1918 pandemic. I wasn’t alive to witness the horrific effects of polio before the vaccines started in the 1950s. I couldn’t take action in helping those in need during those times.

I am alive now though.

With the devastating cost COVID-19 has had on the world to this point and continues to have beyond today, if me getting two shots, a slight headache, a couple hours of aches and pains, and a sore arm for a few collective days can help eradicate this disease for others, that’s all that actually matters and I’m happy to do so.

Thanks for sticking with me through this! If you haven’t done so yet, and you’re physically able to do so, please go out and schedule your vaccine appointment or check with a clinic near you to see if they offer same-day walk-ins. Do it not just to help get your life back to ‘normal’ but for those who can’t do it. Do it for your friends, your family, your colleagues. Do it for the greater world community and our collective neighbors all around us. No matter why you do it, just do it.

Help be a force of good in the world. Thank you!