I got my first shot of the covid-19 vaccine Astrazenica on the 20th of April. It’s a company perk; I work for an institution that was able to secure doses from the first batch of the Astrazenica donation from the United Kingdom for its employees. To be honest, it’s one of the main reasons why I’m still working here, LOL.
Prepping for the Vaccine
A week before our scheduled vaccination, our HR team sent around a FAQ pdf file of the stuff that we could read through just so we’d know what to expect. While technically complete, the material wasn’t really helpful because it mostly listed down the most common of all common vaccine side effects: headache, fever, pain at the injection site. I was low-key freaking out about the blood clot side effects (this was the time when the British government banned people that are 60 years old and below from receiving Astrazenica because of random clotting problems) and I knew that I needed more info.
I turned to good old YouTube and watched as many vlogs as I can about people’s experiences with the first dose of Astrazenica. Because it was widely used in the UK, I mostly found testimonials from people living there and while they mostly said the same things as the FAQ pdf file, I did feel more comfortable hearing the same things from an actual person. So, there I was, all ready and set to get a jab and get a headache and get a fever. Cool.
Pre-Vaccination
I must have been more nervous than I thought because when the doctor took my blood pressure after registration, I was given a reading of 140/90. Not only is that a hypertensive reading, but it’s also a personal high because my BP never goes above 110/70. Regardless, though, the doctor cleared me with the caveat that I would have to stay an extra half hour post-administration for observation.
I entered the huge hall in St. Luke’s BGC and was immediately hit by a wall of noise. I didn’t recognize anybody at first because everybody was wearing masks and face shields, but I quickly realized that the hall was filled with people from other departments in my office. I briefly wondered why they all seemed so excited to be talking with each other but then I remembered that only our department was required to come into the office when the lockdown was lifted and yeah, these people literally haven’t seen each other in over a year.
I took an available seat and put on my earphones. I was vibing with Shinee’s Don’t Call Me album at that time and figured that listening to it would relax me enough to lower my blood pressure. I noticed that there were eight chairs in front of every table and on the table, there were nurses or doctors who were just sitting there. I was confused, where were the injections? Later on, I learned that to preserve the vaccines as much as they could, they waited until all of the tables had eight people waiting for their shot because apparently, there were eight vials for every batch, and they wanted to lessen the opening of the container as much as they could.
Getting Vaccinated
After about twenty minutes of waiting, people finally started moving. I was the third in my batch to get the shot and while I’m not usually very squeamish about needles poking into my body (during blood extractions I would actually watch the needle go in), I must admit that I got nervous about this one. This was, after all, one of the very first vaccines of its kind developed, and it did have the capability to maybe create clots that can kill me. It definitely didn’t help when the doctor/nurse told me that she “will be doing a slow push because otherwise, it would be too painful since the vaccine is very thick”. Greaaat.
Thank goodness that I’m an expert at regulating my breathing so I think I managed to make myself relax enough that it wasn’t actually that painful. I mean, of course, the needle hurt, and I probably took ten deep, slow breaths before the whole thing was over but all in all, it felt just like any other flu vaccine.
Post-Vaccination
I was instructed to rest for 15 minutes, get my vitals checked then and get my vitals checked again 15 minutes after. Thankfully my vitals at the 15 minute and 30-minute mark were stable enough that I was instructed to just chill for 30 more minutes and get my vitals taken again. I just mainly scrolled through stan Twitter (Astro!) until the time was up. My vitals were deemed stable enough for me to receive clearance to go home.
The last stop was at the “exit” table where I was instructed to keep my vaccination card because I’ll need it for dose 2 and was also handed a pamphlet with a list of “severe” side effects that I should be on the lookout for, as well as a number I could call if I feel any of them. The care instructions were the same with a flu vaccine: warm compress to the injection site if painful, take paracetamol if febrile, and rest.
At the first hour mark, I began to feel heaviness on my left arm (the injection site). I shrugged it off and managed to drive to my boss’s flat to pick up my laptop. However, at hour two I felt a very distinct headache. It felt like there was a crack in my forehead and that the pain was radiating through the cracks. I asked my boss about it, and he said that he also got a headache immediately after his shot, so I did feel somewhat comforted.
I managed to drive home without any incident. After taking a bath though, I suddenly felt very, very tired but not sleepy. I just laid in bed for a good three hours and by the time I got up, my joints felt very stiff. I went down for dinner and wasn’t really shocked that my appetite wasn’t affected. I still ate a lot despite the headache, LOL.
I decided to sleep early that night just so that I can maximize my rest. I felt cold but I didn’t have a fever when I took my temperature. That night was one of the crappiest night’s sleep I’ve ever had. I felt chilly enough to need a thick blanket but felt too warm at the same time. I woke up at 3:40 in the morning feeling like I got hit by a truck. I had a headache, my left arm ached like a bitch, and I felt very feverish. I took my temperature and got a reading of 37.4. The lady said to take paracetamol if I got a reading of 37.5 and above so I just gulped down water and tried to sleep.
The following day I woke up at around 8 in the morning, sleeping through my alarm clock. I still felt achy all over, like my joints got stiff and I still had that weird frontal lobe headache. I still wasn’t febrile though, so I just turned on my work laptop to let it update and just laid down for the entire morning. After eating lunch, I basically stayed flat on my bed for the entire afternoon but the good news was that the headache was gone. I still felt achy all though.
Once again, I decided to sleep early just to maximize the recovery period and while it wasn’t the most comfortable sleep, I did manage to break a sweat sometime in the middle of the night. I remember kicking off the blankets because I felt warm, and I fell back to sleep again. When I woke up the next morning at around 6:30, I felt fine except for the annoying pain in my left arm.
Conclusion
I just figured that I should blog about this momentous occasion just in case somebody else out there is looking for a detailed real-life experience with the Astrazenica vaccine. All in all, I felt like shit for a couple of days but felt mostly fine after the “fever” broke. In retrospect, it wasn’t so bad, but I guess because I haven’t been sick at all for the past year, I felt like a massive baby when it felt like I was coming down with the flu.
I’m still concerned about the blood clots but I think they’re rare enough that I’ll take my chances with this vaccine just so I can have some level of protection against this thing and have a fighting chance of keeping my family safe as I’m still required to come into the office every day for work.
It’s been over a month since I’ve had my first jab and I feel fine. I’ll post an update when I get my second jab at the end of this month.
