Tryst with Vaccine!
I took the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on June 24, 2021. Here I am sharing my experience.
The Hurdles in the Path
It was not an easy road to take.
I had a lot of apprehensions and questions about the vaccine and safety. I was recently diagnosed with Asthma and severe allergic rhinitis. Hence, I had doubts whether taking the vaccine along with current medication would cause any problem.
Another hurdle was to get a free slot near to my home. My employer had a vaccination drive but the location was so far off from my home that the commute would be costlier than one dose of vaccine. Private hospitals had open slots but I was not willing to pay a hefty price, while government run centers would get booked in the blink of an eye.
Finally, the membership at Cult.Fit came to the rescue. The Bengaluru based fitness startup rolled out a free vaccination drive for its members. With centers all across Bengaluru, I knew there would be a center available close to my home. I registered for the drive and was allotted a slot at a center near to my home. The process was as smooth as butter. To top it off, the volunteers from the cult fit team called me up twice reminding me to register on COWIN and ensure that I would be there to utilize the slot and take the vaccine.
The Moment of Truth
The center is located around 1 km from my home so it was not a difficult task for me to reach there at the stipulated time. The center followed all the safety guidelines. I was screened at the gate with contactless thermometer.
There was a doctor present in the premises and an ambulance was kept at stand by, which was reassuring.
For the first level of registration, my mobile phone number was verified by the Cult.fit volunteers. I was provided a token and then at another table they verified my COWIN registration. Almost immediately I was asked to enter the vaccination room, and within a minute I had my vaccine injected into the muscles of my right arm.
I was asked to wait for 15–30 minutes for any adverse reactions. Thankfully, there were no immediate adverse effects and I was free to go. Before leaving, I consulted with the on duty doctor about my current medication and what should I do if I have any side effects. I was back home within half an hour.
42 hours, hitchhiking through the side effects.
For the first few hours, things were normal. Apart from the pain in my arm, I was not feeling particularly ill. So, I kept on continuing with my office work.
At around midnight, all hell broke loose. I started to spike fever. It was around 99.6 F and I thought it would subside with paracetamol. Despite ingesting a whole DOLO 650mg tablet, I woke up to an office call with 99.8 F fever.
Here, I made a mistake. I should have applied for leave the day before. It wasn’t too late though, so without hesitation I applied for leave. Since it was Friday, I knew I had two extra days at hand over the weekend to recover. Now I had trouble sleeping. There was fatigue, body ache, chills, and stress. The fever spiked to a 102.1 F and I was not sure why the paracetamol wasn’t keeping it under control. It was unbearable. However, thanks to my mother and her care, I was able to calm myself down and sleep.
After around 24 hours, the fever went down dramatically and the temperature was back to normal. Although, I was having an awkward smell on the walls of my nose and a weird metallic taste in my mouth for another 12 hours.
While I was writing this blog, I was feeling a lot better than I was feeling 3 days ago.
My Learnings
- Before getting the vaccine, consult your doctor. Tell them about your existing medical condition and any ongoing medication. Discuss side effects of the vaccine and the steps to follow to fight them.
- Eat well before getting vaccinated. I had not eaten properly that day which might have added strength to the muscle weakness ( pun intended ).
- After vaccination, drink a lot of water. Drink at least 2–3 liters of water as your body will sweat and you will have to account for the dehydration.
- Get proper sleep. It is very important for the body and all the vital organs to rest.
- Plan your work. Make sure someone else takes care of things in your absence and forgo the stress with work and/or personal life. A stress free mind will help the body to build immunity better.
- Do not panic. Honestly speaking, I was in a frenzy. But as per the doctor these are common side effects and are a sign that the body has build immunity and the vaccine is working.
- Mark you calendar for Dose 2. Do not miss the second dose. Be prepared to face similar side effects wit 2nd Dose as well.
- Do not blindly believe or rely on internet advice( The irony, I know ). Always check the facts with a certified medical practitioner ( aka The Doctor ).
Stay Safe. Get your vaccine. It is for your safety and for the safety of people around you. Be responsible, get Jabbed!