I had my first one on Saturday – volunteering at a food pantry put me in Illinois’s 1b category so I was able to get mine earlier than expected, but it looks like my entire neighborhood will open up to everyone mid-March, anyway, due to it being a particularly hard-hit one. I otherwise wasn’t expecting to be vaccinated until May.
At any rate, I was very impressed with how smoothly everything was run, from the check-in to scheduling your second shot (Pfizer) before exiting. I’m not squeamish about needles, but even I was surprised at how painless the actual injection was. It felt like a mosquito bite at worst. From check-in to receiving the vaccine was about ten minutes. I’ve waited longer at Walgreens for my flu shot. (This was a city-run clinic.)
Side effects? I didn’t really feel anything. Maybe some mild joint pain in the arm on that side, like shoulder, elbow (mostly), and wrist – mild but noticeable. There may also have been some slight fatigue a few hours after the shot, but it’s not something I would have remarked on had I not been looking out for side effects (so it could have also just been psychosomatic.)
I got #1 on February 13th. Finally got the notice about being able to schedule #2, Saturday. I tried to book a slot but all were filled; I tried first thing Sunday afternoon and was able to book a spot March 9th.
My county seems to be handling things in a rather… varied manner. My friend registered first thing when it opened up to 1b (adults 18-64 with health conditions). I registered shortly after she did. My husband, and our housemate, registered shortly after that.
Friend got a message from a different email, sending her to a drive-through clinic. I think it specified the date/time. I got a message from the county, directing me to sign up using a link (and I was able to pick my location and time slot from the available choices).
Husband, housemate and neighbors have not heard ANYTHING yet.
Friend got an email 10 days ago, saying “show up at same place, same time” for #2. As noted, I did not hear back from quite some time, aside from a message that boiled down to “you’re now in the state system, so you don’t need to do anything else”. Which had me worried that I’d been lost in the shuffle and pushed back to the end of the line. Not a real problem - while I’m in an increased-risk group, I CAN isolate at home - but I was concerned that I’d get the “other” vaccine when my time came around again, and also worried that the time between the two might be too long and some efficacy would be lost.
I received my first dose of Moderna last Thursday at Costco. On the first day, I had fatigue and muscle soreness - but I didn’t consider them to be side-effects of the vaccine since I was not able to sleep the night before and woke up at 4am. Also, muscles somewhere on my body are always aching. I did have a slight fever of 98.5, and felt silly reporting it on the CDC v-safe tracking on my phone, since 97.3 is my normal temperature. I did however have pain at the injection site, but only after I removed the band-aid.
Getting the vaccine at Costco was somewhat strange. They are using the old location of the Photo Department. So the post-vaccine waiting area is front and center for everyone rolling their shopping carts out of the store. I felt like an animal in a cage with about 100 people stopping and staring as they passed by.
I got mine a couple days ago, and Mrs. Cheesesteak got hers this morning. No significant side effects, but I haven’t felt quite right the last two days.
The vaccine center is in an old K-Mart, huge open space, roped off like Disneyland, for a huge crowd… and nobody waiting for anything. Went to Table #1, then to Table #2, then to get my shot, then the 15min sit down, and there wasn’t a single person in front of me at any time.
Huh, I thought it was very commonly used. Similarly, a veterinarian I knew very well told me I should buy “small bags of dog food” when our very old dog was circling the drain.
I’m either in a county with a good process or have dumb luck. I have my appointment for dose #2 of Moderna at exactly 28 days (to the minute- it’s in the same time slot) after the first in the same location and I didn’t do anything but respond.
When I got the first dose, I was given a card with the date of the second appointment written on it, but no more information. I got an email that day saying I would be provided with an appointment 3-7 days prior to the date on the card and I should notify them if I made a separate appointment before then.
So I just waited (and worried, we’re dealing with the government after all). Almost exactly 4 days prior to my second date, I got both an email and a text with a time, date, and location (the same place, same time as the first) and instructions to click a link to confirm. A few minutes later, I had a confirmatory email with a QR code for use at the site, plus the appointment showed up in the healthcare app I had downloaded for the first appointment.
Now, the confirmation included clicking on a link in the text, entering a confirmation code that was texted to me when I clicked the link, answering the usual questions, and uploading a picture of my vaccination card (all done on my phone). But it literally took less than 15 minutes, including finding my card and taking a legible picture of it.
Man, I must just live some place where people are more direct or idiom-averse. Never heard “circling the drain,” either. (Though it’s obvious from context.)
Anyone else participating in VSafe? It’s kinda cool. Each day since my vaccine appointment I receive a text with a link to answer a few questions about how I feel.
I am. I agree, it’s cool. If I was experiencing a troublesome side effect and felt really crummy, it would still be easy to report that to the appropriate data gatherers.
I just got my appointment for dose one! I’ve not been this excited to get a shot since like…ever. I’d do a backflip if I didn’t think I’d crack a vertebra.
Pain of shot: Exactly 0.0 on a scale of 0 to 10.
Soreness of arm in the 4 hours since shot: I’d say 0.8 on a scale of 0 to 10. In other words, not much.
Other side-effects: None so far.
And this, after all the horror stories I’ve read and heard!
Done at Kaiser. They are giving shots to members by appointment only, and appointments are given by invitation only.
They were very well-organized. I got there about 15 minutes before my appointment, and only had to wait about 5 minutes. It was not crowded, and no long lines. It was an assembly line: At entrance, get pre-screened and get the questionnaire. Then get escorted to the shot-giving area. Wait in hallway to be called in (this was the 5-minute wait). Get the shot. Go to observation waiting area. Wait. Go to blood-pressure station, get blood pressure reading. Go to next-appointment station, get appointment for 2nd shot. Lots of employees at every station and in between to escort or direct people where to go next.
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