I AM #Vaxed (not #vaxxed, which is a psuedoscience attack on the scientific efficacy of vaccinations)

I got my first of two corona virus shots yesterday. I originally meant to get it on February 17th, but Mother Nature and two back-to-back winter storms (gee, thanks, Shirley and Uri) planned otherwise. It was the Pfizer dose, and I'll have to go back for the booster in a couple of weeks. I was part of the 1B Phase due to asthma, with which I am lucky to struggle very little most years!

Everyone's reaction to both the first and second shot is different, so I'm sharing mine to add to the data of experience and outcomes. 

I did not feel the shot at all, not even a little! About an hour afterward, I had some warmth at the injection site, but very minimal (far less than I had from the shingles vaccine I got back in January). I had no soreness and no swelling, either. Today, it feels vaguely bruised, but only when I mash down on it with some pressure. 

Last night I felt chilled, a bit run down, like maybe I had a cold coming on or my immune system had dipped. My nose felt hot and dry, and my eyes were a bit scratchy. I had a slight headache, and as the night wore on, I definitely felt more chilled than usual (I live in south/central Texas, and it was in the upper 60s after sunset). I might have run a degree of fever, but it was so un-notable that I did not even bother to check for fever. 

So it's possible to have the first shot and have very little reaction! I presume this might mean my immune system will take a much harder knock upon the second shot in a couple of weeks, but the painless experience of the first one creates far less anxiety for me than I had marching into the bowels of University Hospital yesterday afternoon. 

I got vaccinated for #COVID because I get the flu vax each year (having had influenza in 2012 and never been so sick in my life, I never want it that bad again ... and that's what vaccinations are meant to provide -- a buffered illness or even none at all). The facts of germ theory are pretty clear about how disease spreads, and the efficacy of countless vaccines convinces me of the benefits of such preventative efforts. So for me, for my community, I got the #vax. I hope everyone does. 

#SATX #covid