I got vaccinated!

03 Apr 2021

I am happy to announce that as of 905am, April 3 2021, I am part of a rapidly increasing COVID19 statistic - the number of people vaccinated from the disease!

The time in top-right corner of the vaccine document is the time at which I could safely leave after observing a 15 minute waiting period for side effects

I was able to get the Janssen/J&J single dose vaccine a bit earlier than expected by getting a callback from Walmart's leftover vaccine waitlist and I am absolutely delighted to receive this particular vaccine. On the drive back from Walmart, I had Vampire Weekend's Harmony Hall (a song which I had played on repeat for much of 2020) playing on the car's stereo and I felt a surge of positivity that I had been missing for a long time.

I experienced some pretty strong side-effects from the J&J vaccine with chills, a headache, and a fever which reminded me of what bad viral fevers used to feel like after not having gotten sick in over a year. I had an ibuprofen when the symptoms started to get worse and by the next morning, the fever was gone. I was feeling a little weak for most of the day, but otherwise I felt pretty normal. It was definitely the strongest reaction I've ever had to a vaccine, but I have no complaints about it.

I think the biggest positive impact on being fully vaccinated in two weeks will be the added peace of mind in knowing that social decisions can be made with without the mental gymnastics we all used to think through in 2020. It might take a little longer for things to really open back up in the US, but till then, this vaccine will make the ride a lot smoother. Vaccines for my demographic and area are still hard to come by, but fortunately it looks like that will change quickly in the next few weeks when general eligibility opens.