Second Shot in the Arm
Jul. 3rd, 2021 06:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
krpalmerGetting a first dose of vaccine against coronavirus when I did, two months ago, had seemed a “count your blessings” kind of fortune for me. I’d got it by volunteering to take Oxford-AstraZeneca, but had thought the small risks talked up then both known and a one-time event in a way “having to go inside other buildings than my own” couldn’t be. Aches, chills, and general discombobulation a day later had worried me and left me concerned describing them might scare other people away from their own chances, but the day after that I was feeling better. Two weeks afterwards, I thought I ought to feel a bit less intimidated by what trips out my front door I had to make, but only a bit. The second booster shot was, of course, necessary.
When I’d had my first shot I’d been given a sticker with a second appointment for the end of August printed on it. As the weeks rolled by and more and more vaccine arrived in the country, though, new announcements began to shrink the space between shots. Eventually, “eight weeks later” became the possibility for people who’d had Oxford-AstraZeneca, and counting the days remaining I set out booking that second appointment. In making it, though, I did wonder if I’d only identified what kind of first dose I’d had or specifically put myself in a line to be given the same vaccine when other people could mix vaccines and get a better immune response. Then, I got a call from the downtown clinic where I’d had my first dose. On asking and discovering they would use Moderna vaccine and I could get an appointment one day earlier than the one I’d scheduled elsewhere, I went ahead and booked it.
The shot did get delivered today in a fashion now familiar; I’m already wondering how I’ll feel tomorrow, but have a bit more confidence that whatever I feel will pass. What I’ll have the confidence to do two weeks later, even if it’s not being quite as worried about touching anything brought in from outside and washing my hands to excess, is another question.
When I’d had my first shot I’d been given a sticker with a second appointment for the end of August printed on it. As the weeks rolled by and more and more vaccine arrived in the country, though, new announcements began to shrink the space between shots. Eventually, “eight weeks later” became the possibility for people who’d had Oxford-AstraZeneca, and counting the days remaining I set out booking that second appointment. In making it, though, I did wonder if I’d only identified what kind of first dose I’d had or specifically put myself in a line to be given the same vaccine when other people could mix vaccines and get a better immune response. Then, I got a call from the downtown clinic where I’d had my first dose. On asking and discovering they would use Moderna vaccine and I could get an appointment one day earlier than the one I’d scheduled elsewhere, I went ahead and booked it.
The shot did get delivered today in a fashion now familiar; I’m already wondering how I’ll feel tomorrow, but have a bit more confidence that whatever I feel will pass. What I’ll have the confidence to do two weeks later, even if it’s not being quite as worried about touching anything brought in from outside and washing my hands to excess, is another question.