Get Vaccinated!

No, that’s not a political statement. It’s a health-related statement that shows I care about your health and the health of those you interact with as well. I received my firs dose of the Pfizer vaccine yesterday, and I am scheduled to receive my second dose on April 18th. For me, this is a sign of hope. Hope that a new sort of normalcy takes root after the second dose builds up my immune system. A hope that my parents will finally be able to come down and spend time with us. A hope that we can begin cautiously traveling in the near future. Dr. Olliaro explains in the Lancet that “The mRNA-based Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were shown to have 94–95% efficacy in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, calculated as 100 × (1 minus the attack rate with vaccine divided by the attack rate with placebo). It means that in a population such as the one enrolled in the trials, with a cumulated COVID-19 attack rate over a period of 3 months of about 1% without a vaccine, we would expect roughly 0·05% of vaccinated people would get diseased. It does not mean that 95% of people are protected from disease with the vaccine…”

For me, starting the process of being vaccinated is the possibility of getting to know my new state and city. I can go out with my mask on and less fear in my head. I will be able to go out to dinner and not bring it home on our date night. Likewise, I can cautiously gather with new friends and get to know my neighbors. However, most importantly, I know that this vaccine shows that I am thinking of protecting the health and safety of both myself and my community, as well as tourists to my beautiful new state. I can get out and protest against injustices and know that I am safer, and so is the community.

I also feel fine so far. I’m 3.5 hours from my 24-hour mark and all that I have is an achy arm that feels slightly heavy. Not only that, but I forgot about it most of the time. I have even done yoga for 30 minutes, walked the dogs, and vacuumed this morning, and I still feel great. Do not let the rumors and the disinformation dissuade you, the vaccine will prevent you from being intubated or dying. So far, research is showing that it can provide 80% protection two weeks after the first dose of Moderna or Pfizer’s vaccine. As Nike says, Just Do It!