My Vaccine Journey

While having control issues and being regimented has many professional advantages, it doesn’t lend itself so much to personal advantages. So I found out in my vaccine journey. That along with a number of other factors had me viewing my journey from a different perspective.
Certainly, it’s a personal choice and a very serious matter. Particularly for myself and individuals like me who are immuno-suppressed and are otherwise compromised by health issues. After months of outright refusal to even consider getting the vaccine. Being on the fence about it, reading all the information I could find on various vaccine brands, researching the history of all the companies that created and manufactured the vaccines, and finally reading and gauging the social and political climate. I decided to take the plunge. I’d join the legions of my fellow Americans and get the vaccination.
Well, April 21st was the appointed date. About a week prior, the Johnson and Johnson vaccine was stopped, and I took that as a sign that I shouldn’t allow myself to be subjected to this torture. I was back on the fence for about a week before a phone call from one of my mentors set me straight. It was my plan to get the one and done Johnson & Johnson vaccine. In my mind, I surely am the one that would get the vaccine and drop dead right on the spot, becoming the poster child for “Rightful Vaccine Hesitation.
It didn’t help me at all when my mother called to tell me that my cousin Melvin had passed away as a result of Covid-19, shortly before I was due to get my shot. Now granted, Melvin wasn’t exactly one of my favorite people on the planet. Why? Because I have vivid memories of him pinching me when I was a child. Melvin was one of the older cousins in the family, and it seemed that he took particular pleasure in tormenting the younger generation. He would walk by my high chair and pinch me, causing my beloved grandmother to rush from the kitchen to see why I was squealing and crying. You could definitely bank on Melvin being somewhere in the vicinity of my highchair, with that goofy grin and those lopsided, coke bottle glasses hanging off his nose. I felt bad because I don’t like seeing folks in pain for any reason or dying, though I know it’s a part of life. Melvin was a member of my dwindling family, and I remember thinking, “This virus has taken one of my family members.” My family lost another cousin to the other plaque of gun violence that’s an ever-present companion in African American communities.
Nothing like the sting of death to give you a sense of your own limitations and mortality. So when my mother gave me the news that he had passed of Covid-19, I chose to consider that it might have been a sign from my grandmother telling me to go get my shot.
The shot itself was painless, and Trang Nguyen Wynn, the pharmacy technician from Rite Aid was ever so pleasant. We bonded over our mutual love of jade. After I sat for the mandatory 15-minutes following my vaccine, I went directly home. It’s mandated that you sit for 15-minutes to ensure that you don’t have any adverse effects from the shot. In reality, I exceeded the 15-minutes allotted. I actually sat about half an hour, choosing to use the time to quiet my mind, not think about work, and indulge in my favorite pastime of people watching.
For me, the days after were uneventful. I was just tired and extremely lethargic. Can’t say whether it was the side effects of the vaccine or my relentless work schedule. My arm was sore for a few days; but, that passed. I did experience itching at the injection site for about a week. I was no more crankier than normal, so it appeared I survived getting my first shot without any terribly adverse side effects.
I had my vaccine at the Widener University Clinic. They were pleasant, patient, efficient, and well-informed. This put me at ease and made my vaccine journey, not the horrific experience I’d anticipated. I extend my appreciation to the professionals at Widener, Delaware County Council, Christine Carabello, Rite Aid Regional Pharmacy Manager, Rite Aid technicians, faculty, Widener students from Physicians Assistant and Physical Therapy Programs at Widener, the Student Leadership Society, and Katie Hers Herschede, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and all the countless community organizations and volunteers.
They’ve been hosting these Pop-up Clinics throughout the region in distressed communities, replicating this model to promote vaccine equity.
On May 20th, I received my second dose of the vaccine, after which my arm felt as if it were going to fall off. To add insult to injury, under my left arm began to hurt. I received the shot in my left arm. Didn’t want to handicap my right arm, as I’m right-handed. It was difficult to sleep on my left side, but I found a little relief by putting cold packs on and under my arm. The fix also worked wonders in alleviating those intermittent personal summers. I still had the lethargy, though it didn’t last long. Five days out, I started to feel like myself. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be safer, and I do feel safer. I will continue to mask up and follow CDC guidelines for physical distancing and social gatherings. I realize there are people in vulnerable categories that can’t be vaccinated, vaccine-hesitant people, people who haven’t been vaccinated yet, or those who aren’t as concerned or as considerate of other human beings as I’d wish. After straddling the fence, in the beginning, and going back and forth, I’m delighted that I took the plunge.
In the end, vaccination is a personal choice, and it comes down to science. As the country rushes to reopen, as Americans scurry to reinstate the sense of normalcy into their lives and the lives of family, and friends I think that we as a nation will weigh the events and consequences of the last 15 months and ultimately decide to do what’s right…what’s right for all of us.