The Trouble, Fear, Pain & Relief of My First CoVid Vaccination

As More New Yorkers are Vaccinated, the Pressure Grows on Those Who've Not Yet Received a Shot, Also the Role of Limiting Eligibility in Effecting a Smoothe Transition & Effective Tuesday 3/23/21 Folks Aged 50 plus Become Eligible for the CoVid Vaccination

March 22, 2021 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Corona Virus / Gotham Buzz NYC.

So I've been putting off getting a CoVid vaccination ever since I became eligible earlier this year. At first I held off was because there were intermittent shortages of the vaccine, then rumors of long lines to get them, and finally I had to wrestle through the various websites offering a shot, at a time and place that 'easily' worked for me.

Finding a Vaccination Center Near You in NYC

But this past week I hit the proverbial CoVid vaccine jackpot, after spending what was probably a couple of hours online trying to navigate my way to an appointment. One of the issues are the numerous websites out there, offering vaccines. There's both NYC and NYS vaccinations centers and I waded through each looking for specific locations, specific vaccinations [J&J, Pfizer & Moderna] and specific times.

Let me make it simple for you, as I oftentimes ended up on this site.

https://vaccinefinder.nyc.gov

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report about my personal experience receiving the CoVid vaccination in NYC.

The Trouble, Fear, Pain & Relief of My First CoVid Vaccination

As More New Yorkers are Vaccinated, the Pressure Grows on Those Who've Not Yet Received a Shot, Also the Role of Limiting Eligibility in Effecting a Smoothe Transition & Effective Tuesday 3/23/21 Folks Aged 50 plus Become Eligible for the CoVid Vaccination

March 22, 2021 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Corona Virus / Gotham Buzz NYC. Continued.

Finding an NYC Vaccination Center Near You Online with Your Preferred Vaccine

I eventually gave up my interest in selecting a vaccine, as they all appear to accomplish my end game, which was #1 to keep me alive and #2 keep me out of the hospital. They vary a bit in keeping you uninfected by about 10 - 20% depending on whose research you're reading, but getting a bit ill, is different than getting severely ill or dying - so eventually I gave up on my preference. There was a second variable driving my selection which was convenience in the form of one shot, J&J, and reducing the time to being protected which again favored J&J because it's one shot. So I let this all go, in the interest of getting started toward some level of CoVid immunity.

Finding an NYC Vaccination Center Near You, with a Convenient Time for an Appointment & the Wisdom of Managing Eligibility

The next thing was convenience of location and scheduling. I'm happy to report, that in my case, the local pharmacy was able to administer the dose because I didn't need all sorts of documentation to validate my eligibility. Unfortunately, at this time, this is not the case for most categories of eligiblility that are profession based or underlying illness based [my eligibility was age based which is easy to prove with a valid drivers license].

But the site mentioned above, also shows the locations that administer the vaccine, that may be a bit less convenient than your local pharmacy, but which are capable of processing folks who qualify for the vaccine based on occupation and underlying health conditions. You just have to look a bit harder for convenient.

The reason the state is controlling eligibility is to ensure an orderly ramp up of vaccinations. The government vaccination eligibility began with first responders to ensure the rest of us would be taken care of in the evennt of trouble. The next groups were those most vulnerable to hospitalization or dying, as the CoVid pandemic has stressed the healthcare system with older people and those with underlying conditions. We're now expanding into the general population, via the expansion into younger age groups and without underlying conditions. The reason it's so important to get the entire population vaccinated is to stop the spread - particularly of the newer more contagious and more deadly variants.

Those states that didn't manage eligibility well, are reportedly behind in getting their populations vaccinated because of scheduling snafus and website crashes. Managing vaccination eligibility versus not, is the difference between the orderly evacuation of a building in a fire drill, versus the all-at-once rush for the exit in an underground nightclub in the wee hours of the morning after someone yells FIRE!

And then There was the Fear & Anxiety Associated with Being Vaccinated

So, I've been vaccinated at least a dozen times and possibly two dozen times in my lifetime because of travel undertaken to foreign lands with underlying disease issues. I have never given a second thought to the science or the process, but with CoVid 19 it was a bit different. Because of the politicization of the science and - for that matter - the disease itself, there was a bit more hesitancy on my behalf than there might have been otherwise. Part of it was the rush to the development of the vaccine, part of it the emergency FDA approval and part of it was what seemed like the Murdoch Fox News / Trump Republicans disinformation campaign.

But in the interest of staying safe, and knowing that all of the vaccines were made by American companies [Pfizer, J&J and Moderna], I put those politically motivated, Republican & Fox Nation incited doubts aside.

What it was like to Receive My First CoVid Vaccination

A day after making my online appointment, I walked down to the local pharmacy, handed in my insurance and identity information, and waited to receive the shot. There were a few other people there who had either just received the shot or - like myself - were waiting for it. I started talking to them about it. There was an elderly Asian woman who had just received the shot, who seemed terrified and sat still like a stone statue. I decided to leave her be. There was another guy, just in front of me, who told me his wife had received the shot last week. I asked if she had had any reaction. He said she didn't feel well for a while after that first day, but he thought that probably the biggest cause of her reaction was her fear. Hmm.

So I got the shot, the process of which is like any other shot you have ever received. It was the Pfizer vaccine, so I have to come back in four weeks for the last dose, and then wait two more weeks after the second does, before I can assume I'm pretty well protected. The same is true for the Moderna vaccine, but the J&J is a one shot deal, with a bit lower efficacy, but your immunity occurs faster.

The nurse or administering agent told me to occasionally raise my left arm where I had received the shot a few times every 20 - 30 minutes the first day. I asked if it was ok to have couple of drinks that night, or smoke a cigar, or ... She said there wasn't any strong guidance on curtailing things after the shot, but that I should stick around for 15 minutes of so, following the shot, to be sure there wasn't any severe reactions - which can occur - but is very rare.

Those folks who may fall into the rarities category are likely to be flagged in the questionnaire you have to answer before being vaccinated.

The Relief & Ensuing Optimism of Believing I'm Likely on My Way out of the CoVid 19 Pandemic

So, as I left the pharmacy, with a bit of a sore left arm, I felt good about knowing I was on my way to hopefully leaving the CoVid pandemic of 2020 behind. I don't feel entirely sure about America making its way out of the pandemic, as the new strains are making their way here [the first appearance of the stronger Brazilian strain was found this week in Brooklyn].

Beware the Key Facts Omissions by Fox News & Charlatan Pols

But likely the greatest threat to America's recovery from the Corona Virus is good old fashioned American ignorance. Both Murdoch and Trump seemed to be doing about as little as possible, to set things right about minimizing CoVid, like the wearing of masks and getting vaccinated in the fall and early winter. Thus, about half of all Republicans seem to be rejecting the science of vaccination in favor of Trump's and Fox News' disinformation or lack of information. It's worth noting that Fox News has strict CoVid requirements in place at the network location in NYC. And Donald and Melania Trump and the rest of Trump's family received vaccinations before leaving the White House, which they and Murdoch's Fox News failed to publicize to the American public until nearly two months after the fact. So this is a case of pay attention to what they do, not what they say, because actions speak louder than words, as they are far more meaningful.

Now that Biden is moving quickly to get America back on track by pushing the vaccinations, while maintaining masks wearing; Trump and Fox News are pivoting in an effort to claim credit for the Biden vaccination rollout and CoVid pandemic management. It's worth noting that the first vaccine rolled out, made by Pfizer, was not a part of Trump's Operation Warp Speed, but rather funded through its partner BioNTech and the German government. The Trump Administration had also falsely reported that America had much larger vaccination stockpiles than was the case, when Biden took the reins of power from the Donald in January. That poor inventory management, combined with poor vaccine distribution coordination with the states, resulted in cancelled vaccination appointments across the nation, during the first couple of weeks of the Biden presidency.

Two months later, the Biden Administration is back on top of things, and has overachieved its goal of administering 100 million doses in the first 100 days of the Biden Administration. Trump - after completely ignoring the whole issue of CoVid while he was trying to steal the election - seems to be making a grab for credit, as seems his way. Trump, with the help of Murdoch's propaganda machine, wants to claim credit for the Biden Administration CoVid vaccination rollout and what is likely to be an economic recovery later this year.

In this nation people are free to choose for themselves as to whether to get vaccinated or not. But if folks rely on science to provide them with internet access, TV, the cell phone, cars, buses, airplanes and subways, then they should trust the scientists who advise them to get vaccinated as soon as they're eligible.

BTW - People aged 50 and older become eligible to take the CoVid vaccine effective Tuesday, March 23, 2021.

Talking to Others, I was Surprised at How Many People I Know Who are Either Fully Vaccinated, or Received Their First Shot

So upon returning home I started telling folks that I had just received my first shot. I was suprised at how many people I knew had quietly gone about their business and got themselves vaccinated. Some were fully vaccinated, others had - like me - just received their first shot. I asked if any of them had a reaction to the injection. The general response was no for most men and a bit by most women. I wondered if that was because there's one dosage, and men are larger than women, so like alcohol consumption, if a man and a woman drink the same amount, the impact on the woman is likely to be some measure greater because of her smaller size.

Because of size and possible developmental complications, no CoVid 19 vaccine has yet been approved for children and teens who are not yet legal adults. But the pharmaceutical companies are working on them. Since kids have been significantly less susceptible to CoVid hospitalizations and deaths, the priority vaccine development and rollout focused on adults. That said, clinical trials of a CoVid vaccine for kids, are just beginning to get underway as we speak.

In conclusion, it seems many of us are beginning to feel like 2021 could be a very different year from 2020. I hope your week got off to a good start.