I got the Covid vaccine -- Get it as soon as you can!



Hi, everyone!  This is Lara Hammock from the Marble Jar channel and in today's video, I'll share my experience and thoughts around getting the Covid vaccine.

I got vaccinated last week during the first phase in my state.  A friend told me that it was now my civic duty to spread my experience far and wide so that others will feel better about the process -- so here goes!

I received the vaccine because I'm a mental health therapist and mental health professionals are included in the first phase of the vaccine rollout in my county.  I should let you know that I am not AT ALL squeamish about getting vaccines -- I will happily get any and all vaccinations that are available for me and for my kids and we ALL get the flu vaccine every year after one particularly bad Christmas flu experience.  My family has been very careful during this quarantine period and I have ALWAYS planned to get the vaccine as soon as it was available.  So, I wanted to let you know my basic stance on vaccines because this video is aimed less towards arguing with anti-vaxers and more towards allaying the anxiety of those who have fears that production might have been rushed or any bad side effects.

My experience was great.  Although I have some issues with the way that the initial communication was handled, once I had an appointment, the messaging was good and the process was swift.  It was safe and simple.  I got the Moderna vaccine.  Once they jabbed the needle in my arm, I was asked to sit for 15 minutes in a well spaced out waiting area, just in case I had any bad reactions.  I didn't have any, so I went on home.  The whole process took less than 45 minutes.  I had some soreness at the injection site -- kind of like you have with the flu shot -- and that soreness got quite a bit worse on day 2.  Like "can't sleep on that side" kind of sore.  But that was really it!  No headache, no fever, no chills, no other side effects at all, as far as I could tell.  It's been almost 10 days and I feel great.  Apparently it takes 10 to 14 days for the full immunity to build up, so that's when you would also expect for any issues to crop up.

Now -- I am a reasonably young, healthy person who does not work on the front lines (and eternal thanks to those who do).  I thought long and hard about getting in line for this vaccine even though I was eligible.  After all, was I taking a vaccine from someone who really needed it?  Here's where I ended up: we all need to get this thing -- it's our civic duty.  There may be issues with availability later, but right now, the problems are all around distribution efficiency.  Meaning -- we need to get these shots in people's arms as fast as they are being produced.  Full stop.  Think about one of those continuously loading Disney rides -- which we all know are the height of profit-driven maximum efficiency.  It is important to have every single one of those carts filled up.  If even a single cart goes by without a person in it -- because maybe we are worried about taking that vaccine from someone else -- the system has failed.  The more people who get it -- the better off we all are.  When efficiency is the issue, don't mess with the system by second guessing the choices that are being made.  If your airplane boarding group was called, do you look around and say, I'm not going to board because that family with the baby is more deserving?  No.  Get your butt in line and stop mucking up the system -- you are slowing things down for the rest of us.   This would all be very different if there weren't going to be enough doses to go around eventually, but everyone will get one, and the faster the better.

So, here's the upshot -- get your vaccine as soon as you are eligible.  It is quick, reasonably painless, and you'll be providing a great service to your community.  In the meantime, make sure you get your flu shot and take Vitamin D every day.  Both of these things help to reduce the severity of Covid -- I'll post some articles below for reference.   And that's it.  Stay safe, wear your masks, and get vaccinated as soon as you can.  Comments are always appreciated and thanks for watching! 

Reference links for:

  • Flu shot - Reduce Covid Infections: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-flu-shot-might-reduce-coronavirus-infections-early-research-suggests
  • Flu shot - Reduce Covid Severity: https://ufhealth.org/news/2020/uf-health-study-shows-flu-vaccination-might-confer-protection-against-severe-covid-19 Vitamin D:
  • Vitamin D: https://www.nutraingredients.com/Article/2020/12/21/Experts-send-Vitamin-D-and-Covid-19-open-letter-to-world-s-governments

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