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Dr. Joy Henningsen is a diagnostic radiologist at Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center and a clinical assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
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She received the first dose of Pfizer / BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on December 17 and the second dose on January 7 at Birmingham VA Medical Center.
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Although she experience no side effects after the first shot, about six hours after the second dosage Henningsen says she began to feel muscle aches and pains at the injection site.
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She woke up at 12 o’clock at night with fever and chills that subsided in the morning, but the next day she felt persistent effects.
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Henningsen says although these temporary side effects are uncomfortable, they will not happen to everyone and should not be a deterrent to receiving the vaccine.
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Video: What it’s like to get the COVID-19 vaccine
I was very fortunate to receive the initial dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on December 17, the first week it was offered in the United States outside of a clinical trial. My hospital received doses during the first national consignment, and every healthcare worker in my hospital who expressed interest via the admission received the vaccine, including me.
I barely felt the first shot, except for a very subtle pain in the arm a day or so later.
I also signed up to sign up for my symptoms on the CDC’s V-Safe online symptom detection tool. My reporting was completely inconvenient; fortunately, as expected, I had no symptoms that affected my life or activities.
I was wondering if I would be just as happy after the second dose, if more people reported uncomfortable side effects.
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Before I knew how my body would react to the second dose, I prepared myself for the possibility of feeling bad for a day or two afterwards.
Henningsen prepared washcloths, a thermometer and medicine for the use of pain for the shot. Joy Henningsen
If it was an option, I would have secured the workday after the second vaccination. This was not possible for me, so I planned a delivery of groceries in front of my lap and bought the same items I would buy if I had a cold or flu (water, soup, biscuits, etc.) I also made sure that my pets were full of food and water.
In addition to comfort food and liquid fluids, I collected a “vaccine amount” from other supplies.
It included an undertone thermometer to monitor my temperature and fever prescriptions without a prescription. For the whiplash back and forth between fever and chills that some people have reported, I set out washcloths to use as cold compresses. I also put a weighted blanket and a down cloth near my bed.
I got my vaccine on the afternoon of January 7th.
The second dose of COVID-19 vaccine that Henningsen received. Joy Henningsen
I felt good until six o’clock when I started to feel a sense of malaise (the medical word for the vague feeling if you know something is not quite right at the beginning of feeling sick).
There were soon mild muscle aches, as well as soreness at the injection site that was similar to the feeling of a tetanus shot, that is, a little worse than a flu shot. I fell asleep, but not calmly; I woke up to the 12-hour count with a fever of 102 degrees and chills that subsided by morning. Yet, when I woke up, the muscle aches continued, and I had a dull headache, similar to what I would feel if I skipped my daily coffee. 24 hours later, the headache, exhaustion, chills and ‘blah’ feeling are still here.
Still, all my symptoms are mild and I pay a lot of protection against COVID-19. I believe that temporary discomfort should not be a deterrent to receiving the vaccine, and I know that these symptoms are a sign of a robust immune system and that my body is fighting COVID-19 – exactly what it does must do.
Read more: A group supported by major employers such as Walmart, Lowe’s and Microsoft is working on a new initiative to reduce healthcare costs
It is important that we are prepared for the possibility of these side effects.
The Pfizer vaccine has been investigated by the US Food and Drug Administration, which has determined that it is safe to give to people over 16 years of age. Millions of Americans need to be prepared for the possible side effects of the authorized COVID-19 vaccines, such as fatigue, headaches, muscle aches, fever and chills that are more common with the second dose. For the majority of recipients, these potential effects may be an uncomfortable but not threatening part of this vaccine.
According to dr. Anthony Fauci’s latest projections, we must vaccinate about 90% of Americans to bring about herd immunity to resume normal life. I believe it is our civic responsibility to be vaccinated according to the recommended dosage regimen to end the pandemic. We all benefit from it.
It’s smart to prepare yourself for the possibility that dosing two of the authorized COVID-19 vaccines could be slightly more challenging. After seeing the destruction that SARS-CoV-2 can inflict on the body, I can tell you that I would rather spend a night on the couch watching Netflix and watching Netflix. any day about severe COVID-19.
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