Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

Booster round two

I read on the news an update to the Pfizer COVID vaccine that targets the latest omicron variant is now approved and available. I never did get my second booster shot: the first booster was way back in November of last year. Seems like a good time now to get what would be my fourth shot. And because it’s flu season, might as well get the flu vaccine at the same time.

Sadly, the local CVS pharmacy at Target is not offering the COVID vaccine any longer? It’s where I got my booster last time, but I wasn’t able to book any appointments. That’s a shame because I now have to get in a car. A friend informed me that Walgreens pharmacy is offering the updated booster - plus the flu vaccine. So I mimetically went to the Walgreens website to make an appointment. There were plenty to be had at locations around my zip code.

Next Friday evening will be the day. It should offer enough leeway over the weekend should I experience heavy symptoms. The two primary Pfizer shots only resulted in a sore arm, but the booster shot absolutely wrecked me hard. I’m definitely tempting fate here by getting the COVID and flu vaccine concurrently. Perhaps I can bro-science my way out of this: if I expect symptoms to be mild, then my body will react accordingly.

This is going to be the yearly dance, isn’t it? COVID vaccine boosters every fall. It’s truly become just like the flu. Hopefully as the years go by, as herd immunity grows ever stronger, further COVID boosters would only be something necessary for the immune compromised and the elderly.

Third time is the charm

Well, that was a bit unexpected.

I got my COVID-19 booster vaccine shot this past Sunday, and yesterday - Monday - I felt rather terrible. It’s unexpected because the first two times I got the Pfizer shot, all I had to show for it in terms of symptoms were a sore arm. Physically otherwise I felt great, quite unlike some people I know who got absolutely clobbered with COVID-like symptoms. Those federally-mandated COVID sick days sure come in handy!

Well who is eating crow now, because I got symptoms on the third shot. It wasn’t too bad, all things considered: just slight chills at the extremities, and a woozy feeling to the head. As of this writing - Tuesday - I feel completely fine again, and consider myself lucky to be amongst the group currently eligible for a booster. Working in education is finally paying off, because the paycheck sure isn’t compared to the private sector!

Hopefully this is the last COVID vaccine shot I will ever have to take. It’s November already, and 2022 is almost done. With kids five and older now eligible for the (Pfizer) vaccine, I think soon we should reopen everything back up completely. No more mask requirements. COVID-19 will truly become like the seasonal flu, something to be managed, rather than aiming for some delusion of zero cases. It is time.

Slight delay

I was supposed to get the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine tomorrow morning, but sadly I got notification the City College of San Francisco vaccination site do not have enough supply to fulfill the original appointment. Therefore I am not going to complete the vaccination circle until Thursday of next week. After a grueling year of the pandemic, what’s another seven days of waiting anyways?

Of course, getting the second shot doesn’t mean I am immediately immune to COVID-19. It takes another two weeks after that for the vaccine to take full effect. That means I still have three more weeks of this super careful, masked-up, lockdown lifestyle that’s been going on for more than a year. Not that I’d be going around freely not giving a crap as soon as the two weeks is over, mind you.

Once I am fully immune, my friends and I are having a gathering to celebrate the occasion. Due to sheer luck, our friend group all either work in education, or in the medical field. Therefore, we were amongst the first batch of people to get the vaccine. This milestone should be celebrated properly: by gathering indoors without masks, and hugging each other with impunity. After a whole year of not hanging out together, it’ll be a sweet feeling indeed.

We certainly won’t be the only group of people doing this. I am genuinely happy that as more and more are vaccinated, we get to go back to socializing physically, rather than over a Zoom screen. I just hope we have enough supply for everyone to get the vaccine as quickly as possible. Hopefully my delay is just a small hiccup, rather than some widespread issue.

First dose aftermath

It’s been two days since I got the first dose of the COVID 19 vaccine (Pfizer), and the intense soreness of the receiving arm has largely subsided. Thankfully I did not experience any other symptoms or side effects. My body is essentially fighting off COVID and creating antibodies, so I am fortunate to be good shape. I know people who have received the vaccine and suffered major symptoms afterwards. It’s part of the process, of course, but I’m definitely happy to be on the “feeling well” side.

There’s still the second dose to come, obviously. Anecdotally, that’s the shot that will enduce the COVID-like symptoms of fatigue, brain fog, and fever. I shall find out on the weekend of March 18th.

The drive-thru vaccination site at the City College of San Francisco - run by University of California San Francisco - is very efficient. Once you are checked in at the gate - and given a second mask to go over the one you should already have - you drive up to one of the 20 plus lanes and await your turn. From arrival to the needle going into my left arm (you get a choice) took about 30 minutes. After the shot, you are then to wait for 15 more minutes at another parking lot. This is to see if there’s any allergic reactions to the vaccine. Should that occur, paramedics are on hand to assist.

I am incredibly relieved to be (half) done with vaccination. It feels like I can finally relax now, even though I’m not easing up on any precautions until a solid majority of people are vaccinated. That day might come quicker than we thought: the Johnson & Johnson one dose vaccine have now been authorized by the FDA for emergency use. With three vaccines now in supply, I bet we can all return to some semblance of normal by summer.

And that would be just sweet.

First dose

Today is a highly anticipated day: I am getting my first COVID vaccine dose! After months of waiting since the vaccines were approved for emergency use, I finally get my turn at this big step in returning to normalcy. The sense of relief was palpable when the appointment confirmation came through. With the second dose marked for mid March, I’m in the endgame now.

My eligibility for the vaccine is predicated on me working at San Francisco State University. The first tier of people eligible were those over the age of 65, and healthcare workers. Education is lumped into the next tier - tier 1B - because I guess they really are trying to open back up the schools as quickly as possible. Tier 1B came in effect yesterday, and I was lucky to snatch an appointment for the following day.

I am to receive the Pfizer vaccine, and it’ll be interesting to see if I experience any adverse symptoms. Anecdotally, people I know who got the Moderna vaccine had a rough time with COVID-like symptoms for the few days after the shot. Those that got Pfizer seems to be okay for the most part. It’s probably idiosyncratic to the individual, rather than which company of vaccine. Obviously, I don’t care which one I get, and neither should anyone. The goal is to vaccinate as many as possible.

I reckon the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine is going to be the next game changer.

It takes two weeks for the vaccine to take full effect, so I reckon by early April I’ll be fully shielded from COVID. That’s an exciting thought, and I look forward to going outside and doing stuff with way more impunity - vis a vis the virus - than I’ve done the past year.

We're in the endgame now

Late last week, the FDA gave emergency authorization to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. This is great news, one that that provides a bit of hope and a proverbial light at the end of this strange tunnel. It’s just a shame that we as a nation are crashing and burning to get there. Right now, over 3,000 Americans are dying every single day due to COVID complications. San Francisco is back in lockdown, and ICU wards across the country are on the brink. The vaccine that can’t come soon enough has arrived, but it’s fighting the aftermath of a war, rather than a building fire.

I am optimistic for a quick rollout, and for other vaccines to join Pfizer’s relatively soon. That said, there are still many more months to go before we start our descent back to normalcy. I’m afraid we haven’t yet crest the wave. A friend of mine that works in the health industry says she personally doesn’t expect to the get the vaccine until April of next year. It will likely be well after that for me, a healthy person in his 30s, working in a non-essential job. I took the New York Times’ “Find Your Place in the Vaccine Line”: 260 million Americans, and half of San Francisco, are ahead of me

What I am saying is that while the vaccine approval is absolutely good news, we shouldn’t get complacent. The coronavirus saga is far from over, though we can take solace that the end is in sight.

That means Christmas is and should be cancelled. I didn’t blame people for gathering for Thanksgiving after a long and arduous year, but do you really need to get together again after less than a month? I think if you saw family and friends during Thanksgiving, it’s only rational and right that you don’t do so for Christmas. The hospitals are already at capacity; the vaccine rollout won’t be quick enough to stem the rise in cases if people gather for Christmas in significant numbers.

Honestly though, I’m not expecting any collective breakthrough. This country has too much freedom, not enough selflessness.