I received the first round of the vaccine on the 21st of December 2020 with the only side effect being a sore deltoid from the injection for a couple of days. I Got the Second Round (Booster) of the Vaccine January 11th 2021 with notably more severe side effects. Around 12hrs after the vaccination I developed A fever with a peak of 40c (104f) with chills and muscle soreness which lasted for approximately 36hrs.
I have spoken with several other medical professionals that noted having stronger side effects from the booster than from the initial similar to my own, though not really scientific it incidentally suggests a lot of people will feel like shit for a couple of days after getting the second dose.
So my advice for those planning on getting the vaccine when available is to prepare for flu like symptoms, especially after the second dose.
- Make sure to have Plenty of Gatorade or your preferred electrolyte beverage.
- Have an oven or microwave ready meal planned for when you feel like shit.
- Get the vaccinations on a day that allows you to have a couple of free days to recover from the flu like side effects.
- Plan to take Tylenol or your physician recommended fever reducer prophylactically to prevent elevate fever spikes.
- Stagger the vaccinations within the household to avoid everyone being ill at the same time.
I hope someone finds this information/insight helpful if you have questions please let me know and I’ll do my best to answer them.
14 replies on “Thoughts from an RN after getting the first and second dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine”
Is this a vaccine in the true sense of the word: Does it convey immunity, and prevent transmission? In the UK and elsewhere, the bar has been lowered, and they are requiring only that their ‘vaccine’ reduce symptoms. Well, there are plenty of cheap, safe palliatives that do that.
From what I understand, it’s an mRNA “vaccine”. It’s not a vaccine in the true sense of the word. An actual vaccine has a piece of the virus, either dead or disabled, and that is what confers immunity as it gives the immune system the full “database” entry for that virus.
What this mRNA method does is something more like an allergy shot: it gives your immune system the ability to recognize the proteins on the virus rather than the recognition of the virus itself. It only gives you one FIELD of the database entry, not the entire row of fields.
Not really. Vaccines have many types, might have living pathogens, killed pathogens or more recently sub-parts. This vaccine is similar to a sub-part vaccine but it does not have the proteine itself but injects mRNA into the cells that will be translated to that protein. So at the end of the day you get the same at the mostly same place.
Sub-part vaccines are around for 3 or more decades, nothing new on that. The revolution here is the indirect application. And the main unknown risk is the vector that smuggles the mRNA inside the cells.
Yes, in that sense it is absolutely a vaccine. 🙂 If works it triggers immune response on the spike protein of the virus that is good to neutralize a wild infection. As long as it comes with the same spike.
Pfizer’s data suggests that it is 95% effective in producing an immune response. The efficacy of that immune response to provide protection from illness is something we probably wont know for a while.
if a younger healthy person get a 40c fever, what would it do to a >65 with comorbidities?
Enough to say at 76 with diabetes, I’m not taking it. I’d rather contract the virus itself and deal with it.
I can understand not getting the vaccine since it not even FDA approved, but you do not want the virus, your age and comorbidities put you at high risk of complication/death.
You don’t seem to realize, I really don’t care anymore.
Well I do. Be safe and take care of yourself.
High fever is an expected potential side effect of ANY vaccine. It needs to be looked after and treated. And it is not supposed to be a “big deal” at all. Especially wrt. the covid vaccines that use novel tech and unknown long-term risks, that are actual big deal. Coming with the sensible suggestion that only those with considerable risk should take those vaccines in the first 3-5-10 years.
OTOH for those who live in fear of covid should take the vaccine, and once the initial demand is met all mandated prevention measures (including masks and lockdowns)need to be abolished.
Many countries are already saying that the mask, 6 ft. distance, etc. will still be required after the vax. They’re also saying this vax won’t be effective for the “new strain”, so we can expect more vax’s in the future.
Amazing for a disease with a 99% survival rate.
So far data suggests that the Pfizer vaccine is effective against the new strain from the UK. Masking and distance will be needed until transmission rates drop to a level that doesn’t imply uncontrolled spread.
CDC hasn’t been clear on this which is an issue, people can’t make good choices if they don’t have info and don’t know what the goal is. Most people wont understand the potential benefit of the vaccine if you tell them they still have to wear a mask.
That was part of the reason I posted this I want people to be prepared, if I had started taking Tylenol every six hours after getting the shot I probably wouldn’t have gotten a fever.
The side effects were well documented in the literature so it’s on me a little that I assumed my age and fitness level would make them minimal.