Good news! My son is getting his first covid shot today. He is at a drive thru at some high school in AZ. He is eligible as a teacher. Hope there are no glitches! I’m so excited for him!!
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My aunt and uncle live in Boston, but have an apartment in New York City for work. They could not find a place to get an injection in Boston, so went to NYC this weekend as they found one there. Glad they were able to get one, but not everyone has the option to travel to find a vaccine.
My daughter has a newly discovered health issue, so checked with her PCP to see if she could be moved up on the list, but he told her no. I ask that she check with her hematologist, as that is where she is being treated, but she isn’t willing to check. She could be 1B which her state is vaccinating now; she just is the type that doesn’t want to jump the line. She said she will get it when it is her turn.
I had my first shot 5 days ago (Pfizer). On day 2, I got a hard painful lump at the injection site. The lump was about a centimeter in diameter. That lasted 3 days. On day 5, I got some major joint pain in my sacroiliac joint plus I was very tired. Luckily I have a week off after my second shot. I’m planning to be in bed for 2 days.
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Husband and I are getting our first shot on Tuesday. I’ve seen (and used) suggestions for reducing the pain/swelling at the injection site for flu shots and wondered if they are also recommended for Covid vaccines:
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pump or vigorously move arm after shot for about 15 minutes. Apparently this helps move the vaccine away from the injection site and into the bloodstream more quickly. We will be waiting in the car for 15 minutes anyway so easy to do.
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apply ice pack for the first 24 hours to reduce swelling - 20 minutes on, various recommended times off.
Asking our medical CC experts if these would be good ideas, and if you have any more suggestions. Thanks!
I always choose to get a flu shot (and this first vaccine) in my dominant arm with the theory that you are more active with your dominant arm so it gets movement as opposed to staying more prone. That was recommended to me more than once by health professionals.
Try not to overthink! Get your vaccine, maintain your normal activity if you can, if Tylenol is needed as the day goes on, treat with a dose or two to get you through the first 24 hours.
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also a fan of shots in dominant arm. Both wife and I had Moderna #1 and had almost no effects. Only felt the soreness when I raised my arm over my head. No Tyelenol required. I had a much worse rxn with Shingrix.
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I get my shot in the arm on the side that I don’t sleep on.
With my first covid shot, it was tender starting about bedtime, but by the time I woke up in the morning, it was fine.
I did take Tylenol, and it didn’t do a thing to relieve the tenderness around the injection site. If it had still been sore in the morning, I would have used ice.
I got the injection in my dominant arm and went about daily activities. I also had an hour yoga class and I think the stretching helped. In other words, keep moving that arm.
I took Tylenol the second day for headache; my arm never hurt enough to require pain med.
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Question for those who got the shot already. My daughter is scheduled for this weekend, is this like a shingles shot and taking a tylenol or motrin before the shot would help with any side effect (soreness, etc.)
You can find conflicting info out there re: pre-medicating. But our health care system recommends NOT pre-medicating and our docs have recommended if you do need to medicate post vaccine use Tylenol over Advil (ibuprofen). Here is some text I received for context/explanation:
“Taking over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen before receiving a vaccine may reduce its ability to work and blunt your immune response to the vaccine. After the vaccination, don’t hesitate to take an over-the-counter medication if you have symptoms that make you uncomfortable.”
It was several hours after the vaccine before I felt any soreness. The soreness was nothing that prohibited me from doing my usual activities including going for a run. It was sore alright but not restricting.
OF COURSE, I would encourage everyone to ask on your own (to your vaccine provider while on site) what they recommend.
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Not me, but H now. He met the criteria where we live and I had fast fingers to sign him up. I think I will end up being about the last person vaccinated.
Demand here is high. The city/county are being creative in opening new avenues for vax but just don’t have enough medication. There is a call in program for seniors on the poorer side of town now, for example. This helps people without internet and without good transportation. These two new sites were also swamped.
Where my dad lives it seems terribly disorganized. Not much vaccine and no clear communication about where to go. He was lucky to have acted so quickly and got himself an appointment.
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I’m in GA and was not scheduled for my second Pfizer dose when I had my first a couple of weeks ago. I spent a lot of time on county websites trying to get through to schedule the second appointment to no avail. I finally got an e-mail Friday night that I’m scheduled for this coming Saturday (same time as my first appt.). It would have been nice to know they were going to just contact us (we were told differently at first), but I’m glad they figured out a better plan and that there are enough doses for us to get the second shot.
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I had my shot on Sat morning. It was sore at night, but only when I touched it. Next day it was a bit itchy. I didn’t have any other side effects. I was told by the vaccine administrator to take Tylenol if I needed, but not aspirin.
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I read in today’s newspaper that the site where we got our first dose is starting to give second ones. They said they were a few days behind, but started notifying people Friday to come in today and tomorrow. I was happy to see that since it’s what we were told at time of shot #1.
Now just hoping supply can keep up!
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My mom got the Moderna vaccine last Friday and has reported no side effects at all. She definitely has a high pain threshold but said she felt no soreness at the injection site or any other reactions.
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I told not to take Tylenol prior to the shot and to take it only if symptoms happened. I felt nothing at all until about 9 hours after my shot, and then it was just tenderness at the injection site if I touched it. I took Tylenol but frankly it didn’t touch that issue. That was my first shot.
My DD had her second shot. She was fine from 11 am until 9 pm when she started to feel icky. And she was at work. She broke out in a fever about 2 a.m. and said she took Tylenol at that point and it knocked the fever down, and she was able to sleep.
As noted, ask your doctor…but around here, folks are being advised not to take anything proactively.
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“As noted, ask your doctor…but around here, folks are being advised not to take anything proactively.”
That goes with everything I have read.
I have a husband and wife doctor friends who got sick with covid19. The husband got sick first. Lost his sense of smell and taste. He was scheduled to get the vaccine until he got sick. His wife, my dear friend, got her first shot of the Moderna vaccine a week before the husband got sick. She was tested as soon as the husband tested positive for the virus. Hers came back negative (POCT) but she started showing symptoms later that day coughing and SOB. She was re-tested for a PCR test. That came back positive. They both experienced a severe case of flu-like symptoms with shortness of breath. Husband had pleurisy. Their live-in nanny tested positive also with symptoms. Youngest of the 3 kids had low grade fever, the others asymptomatic (kids were not tested). They were all on isolation for 12 days. My friend said that they tried prone positions 3 times a day and did lung percussions. They are both back to work now. Sense of taste comes and goes.
Seems like this would be the probable timeline if she got it from him:
Day 0 to 5: he gets infected.
Day 3: she gets first dose of Moderna vaccine.
Day 3 to 8: he begins to be presymptomatically contagious, infects her and others.
Day 10: he gets sick, tests positive; she gets sick, tests positive.
Yup! The timeline fits. My friend said she’s getting her second dose 1/30/21.
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