Jim's Shot in the Arm

Bojangles Coliseum

Jim turned 65 earlier this month, and I was able to schedule his first Covid-19 vaccination on March 6th. He was not able to get an appointment where I went until mid-April, so I went through a neighboring county to sign him up. The vaccines are being given out in multiple locations in that county, but his was at the Bojangles Coliseum. It is not set up as a drive through, which is unfortunate, but inside the building people were spread out and masked. He checked in, filled out a form, and was quickly taken back for his injection. Fifteen minutes later we were on our way home. His arm was a little sore the next day, but he had no other side effects at all.

Like me, he received the Pfizer vaccine, so the wait between shots is 3 weeks. He will return on March 30th for his second vaccination. I think we will rest a little easier once we are both fully vaccinated. We have been super careful in our activities, but not everyone has done the same. So you never know where you might be exposed to Covid. I have to say, it has not been too much of a hardship to stay at home when we can wake up to views like the one we were treated to this morning. Heaven painted a canvas in our backyard.

sunrise on Mountain Island Lake

Covid-19 Vaccine Update

sunrise on Mountain Island Lake

It has been three days since I received my first Pfizer Covid-19 vaccination. My injection site arm was a little sore Friday and Saturday, but by Sunday that had totally gone away. I experienced no other reactions from the shot. The most serious, of course, would be an anaphylactic reaction, which is why they have you wait 15 minutes following the injection as that is the time period during which such a reaction most likely will occur. 

Some people experience swelling at the site of the shot, which honestly normally happens to me. Other common side effects are fever, chills, tiredness and headaches. While I am feeling very fortunate that I didn't experience any of those things, I do know that it is more common for them to occur following the second shot. But I'll count my blessings that the first one went so smoothly.

Not Throwing Away My Shot

Atrium Health Covid-19 vaccination tent

This morning I was able to receive my first Covid-19 vaccination at the Atrium Healthcare facility in Concord, NC, which is about 45 minutes away from my home. Once we figured out where on the huge campus the shots were taking place, the process could not have been easier. We drove up and were immediately greeted by an attendant who verified how many in the car were being vaccinated. (I had Jim come with me in case I had an adverse reaction, but as he is not 65 yet he is ineligible to receive the shot in North Carolina at this point.) After I told the man it was just me, he asked if I had received a bar code from Atrium, which unfortunately I had not. He handed me paperwork that I had to fill out, as well a a vaccine report card on which they record your first and second shots.

first Pfizer Covid-19 vaccination

He then sent me up to the next attendant, and she made sure that I did indeed have an appointment, verified my date of birth and address, and waited while I completed the form. Next I drove straight ahead to a large tent, where a nurse asked me a couple of other questions, checked my paperwork, and then gave me the shot. It was the least painful injection I have ever received - way better than tetanus and shingle shots. From there I pulled behind a few cars where I was asked to wait 15 minutes before leaving. This is to make sure you don't have a severe reaction to the vaccine, which is rare but has occurred. From start to finish, we were there less than 25 minutes, and I never had to leave my car. Easy, peasy! 

It has been three hours since the injection, and while my arm is slightly sore everything else is fine so far. I know I may get some reaction, and I suspect I will as I have from other shots. And I have heard that reactions increase with the second shot. But that is good as your body is doing what it is supposed to do at that point.

I recognize that I am incredibly fortunate to have been able to schedule my vaccinations. I hope that when Jim turns 65 next month, we are able to get appointments for him as well. And I pray that the vast majority of Americans will agree to be vaccinated, as that is the only way we can kill off this deadly virus.