Depending on the state you’re at, you may be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. If it’s your time to get a vaccine, book an appointment and don’t be shy to roll up your sleeve. Here in North Carolina, they started vaccinating people in group 4 (Adults at higher risk for exposure and increased risk of severe illness) last March 17, 2021. Appointments for group 4 opened on March 15.
Since my husband and I are in group 4, he called the county appointment hotline on March 15 at 8am. He was only able to get an appointment for us on March 18 at 4pm at the Mt. Zion Church location in Greensboro. We chose that spot as people at the Nextdoor app were saying that they were using the J&J vaccine. We wanted J&J as it’s a single shot. However, we really cannot choose what shot we can get as the locations themselves wouldn’t know what vaccines are allocated to them.
On the day of our vaccination, we weren’t sure if our appointment will push through as we were under severe thunderstorm watch and tornado watch. The mass vaccination site at the Four Seasons Mall already postponed all the afternoon drive-thru appointments. Since we didn’t get any text messages or news of cancellations, we headed to the vaccination site an hour early. When we got there, we were advised to park our car and wait 15 mins before checking-in inside.
Once our alarm went off, we went inside and was advised to fill up a form. On the form, we were asked some health questions such as if we had COVID in the past 90 days, are we pregnant, are we on blood thinner medication, are we on cancer meds). Once the form is filled, we headed to one of the 3 registration booths where they filled in their portion of the form. They then returned the form to us and asked us to stand in the next available red dot on the floor. As we move towards the door to the room where we will be vaccinated, we heard the nurses inside explaining to the people getting their vaccines that they are giving their first dose of the Pfizer shot. We were a bit disappointed that we will get the Pfizer vaccine but we went ahead as we don’t know when’s the next open slot that we can book.
When it was our turn, the nurse advised us that she will be administering the first shot of Pfizer vaccine to us. She showed us the small card where our name, the date and the vaccine type was written. She told us to keep the card and present it on our next appointment. We can also use the card if we have plans to travel to show that we were vaccinated. She also informed us that people have different symptoms to the vaccine. Some show no flu-like symptoms on the first dose but do so on the second dose. Some show flu-like symptoms on both doses. In case we do have flu-like symptoms, we just take tylenol and rest. Once the shot was administered, they gave us a “I got my COVID-19 vaccine!” pin. Then she pointed us towards the door where we need to take a rest for 15 mins. The 15 mins was to observe us in case we have any reaction towards the vaccine. They also took our cards to schedule our next dose appointment.
After 15 minutes waiting for their alarm, our white cards were returned to us and we were sent home. When we got home, I took Tylenol just to preempt any symptoms that may come up. The first night, I was able to sleep well without any symptoms. It might be because of the Tylenol. The next day, I was feeling tired, sleepy, body ache and a mild headache. After breakfast, I drank Tylenol again. I wasn’t able to do anything that day as I really don’t feel like doing anything. Today, I’m feeling much better and I didn’t drink any Tylenol. The arm where I had the injection is still sore especially when I raise my hand up.
If your hesistant to get a vaccine, don’t be. It will help you and others to get back to the new normal. So.. ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVE and get your COVID-19 vaccine.
Claudine on the Go 
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