Half Way There

My right arm received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine on Wednesday. First I felt like it was a small miracle that I got it since it seemed getting an appointment was just about as easy as trying to purchase a PS5. Elise told me to try doing it through Kaiser, and I was able to get an appointment for the next day in Hollywood. SCORE!

There was a considerable line to get the first dose, but it moved pretty quickly. About a 40-minute wait, I checked in, got the vaccine card and in went the chilly magical RNA elixir. After the mandatory 15-minute observation, I went back home and continued to work.

Sure my arm was sore around the injection, but damn I was tired. Maybe I had a bad sleep? I found myself at my desk sitting up completely asleep with unread Slack notifications blinking on the screen. Shit.

After I finally logged off of work, I sat on my couch completely unwilling to make dinner. Again, I startled awake sitting up on my couch a couple of hours later. Was this the vaccine or was this just me? It’s not a new thing for me to fall asleep sitting up on that couch.

I ate a reluctant dinner, a small salad really, and then just went to bed. At midnight I woke up as my mouth was salivating like crazy and my digestive tract felt like a mosh pit. Fuck. Vomit #1. An hour later, Vomit #2. I was able to sleep after that.

I was out of it most of Thursday though not feeling as bad as I did the day before. I confirmed with my pharmacist cousin Gina that nausea was indeed a side effect of the vaccine and that some folks, particularly Asians, did get it bad after the first dose. Great. But I powered through the day and by the end of it felt totally fine.

I don’t know what I’ll feel next month after the second dose, but if feeling that discomfort for a day is the price to pay to avoid coming down with the COVID, then so be it.

Another thing. If these side effects are like mini-COVID, then there is no way I want the full blown COVID.