My experience receiving the 1st dose of covid-19 vaccine

I received my first vaccination injection this morning, in Scotland, thought I’d share my experience here after hearing John and wai discuss being apprehensive on rewind-a-dynamite, as I’d imagine I’m one of the first in this community to receive it.

I work in social care, so was offered the vaccine, the phone line to book an appointment was pretty jammed but I eventually got through and 2 appointments were made, the 1st today, and the 2nd on the 8th January. I was asked to turn up no earlier than 5 mins before my appointment, which I did. At the hospital, I waited in a socially distanced line before confirming my name and taking a seat, a nurse then asked me the mandatory questions required, before administering the vaccine, I’m not being macho but you genuinely don’t feel a thing, if you’ve ever given blood, divide that small pain by a thousand and that’s what it feels like, it’s nothing. I was then asked to wait for 15 minutes before leaving, including those 15 minutes, It was half an hour in and out.

All very banal to be honest, but may quell a little bit of apprehension some may have, even if this process may be slightly different outwith Scotland, as even in the rest of the uk we have different health boards.

I understand people being sceptical like Wai is, though I think to get past this we will have to put a degree of trust in the health professionals that this vaccine is safe.

Hopefully my experience remains this uninteresting and can maybe help others be less fearful of taking it. Cheers. :syringe: :muscle:

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Thank you for sharing!

I won’t be getting the vaccine but that has 0% to do with the actual administering of it and 100% to do with the way it has been rushed through and not properly evaluated

I have absolutely zero trust in the pharmaceutical industry and therefore the data being presented to regulators (and if I lived in the US I would have very little faith in the FDA). That zero trust has been well earned by the pharmaceutical industry. If it wasn’t for the economic impact of this virus no regulator would be approving a vaccine that has been developed in such a short period of time and with so little understanding of the effects.

I appreciate for those with underlying health conditions or older people who are most at risk being prepared to accept the vaccine given the relative risk but for someone like myself who is not at risk should I catch it then I see no reason to accept that risk.

It has been properly evaluated. It had (as most Clinical Trials for Covid related vaccines) a rolling trial submission process, so data was shared in real time with regulators, and as a result moved much quicker than other vaccines.

I would also recommend this simple conversation which breaks down things about the vaccine here in Canada:
https://cbc.mc.tritondigital.com/CBC_FRONTBURNER_P/media/frontburner-W2en5PNE-20201210.mp3

It absolutely has not. How long does the immunity last, does it stop you transmitting the virus, are there any side effects after 3 months, 6 months, a year, etc.

None of these things are known.

Hi, to be clear, I didn’t share this because I thought people were fearful of the administration, I understand that it’s the effectiveness, worth or side effects of the vaccine that make people reluctant. The unease surrounding it may cause anxiety for a lot of people choosing to take it, so a first hand account of how easy the process is may help.

Also, I will be one of the few people who are of low risk of having serious problems if I caught covid, to receive the vaccine, so once it’s rolled out to everyone, hopefully my good health can help people be less fearful of taking it.

We are only here because other generations took vaccines.

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Understood Tony.

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Big respect, Brother. Thank you for sharing your experience and I hope the vaccine works effectively.

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Love how the average person has become a vaccine expert over the last year.

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Congrats Tony!

I love the “Trust the science, don’t trust the process sentiment out there”. If I used the logic of unknowns I’d argue that we still don’t know enough about the virus at all to believe it’s real! (Calm down, I’m joking).

It goes back to this, so you think these companies would risk their trillion dollar industry to rush a shotty vaccine through where they are liable for it not working in a way that would destroy their companies? In that regard I trust the companies more than the government or any agency which has zero liability. If the Pfizer vaccine proves problematic Pfizer is fucked. If the Govt approved it and it doesn’t work what exactly happens to the government? So yeah, I trust industry over government 100% because at least I know what the incentive is for the industry and trust their risk exposure as a better driving factor more than governments.

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First of thanks @Tony for sharing your experiences.

The NEJM released the data in the Pfizer vaccine today. It’s quite impressive with a lot of immunity a week after the first shot

There is follow up on these patients upto 120 days and nothing serious has been reported.

Getting the vaccine or not will always be an individual choice.

However I would caution the following

  1. Vaccines that have side effects (ie GBS being the one everyone worries about) typically are up front or shortly after administering it. On 43,000 odd patients we didn’t see anything. This is not to say there can’t be a delayed side effect but…

  2. We also don’t know the long term effects of COVID-19. So, we can’t say if the side effects of the vaccine long term vs side effects of COVID long term will be worse. However…

  3. I have seen lots of covid survivors of serious infection. They are not well. Those on ECMO have reduction on IQ for instance and many report lung issues. At least on the data we have so far there is no question the vaccine is eons safer than getting COVID especially if it’s serious. Why this trend would reverse itself a year or two out isn’t clear when no vaccine really demonstrates delayed side effects. Also…

  4. The benefit of vaccines to the individual does it make more a personal choice. However there is a critical threshold of herd immunity - if enough the of population doesn’t get immune to it (either vaccine or exposure) then the virus keeps circulating around. Effecting…

  5. Many high risk people that can’t get vaccine for various reasons who rely on herd immunity to protect them. Finally…

  6. Although not evidence based almost every ID and ICU doc involved with COVID patients are getting it for themselves and their families. I’ve been involved in meetings around distribution etc and universally most physicians want the vaccine as soon as they can get it. Despite what I may write here at times docotors at this level aren’t idiots and many are much smarter than me. They doing just read a news headline - they read the entire thing. And they wouldn’t risk their own health and their families health without knowing the potential unknown threat is not as great as the known one

In the end it is a personal choice. However I would urge everyone to think long and hard. Don’t rely on a Facebook post or some misguided sense of vaccine fear based on what you are hearing.

Here is the article :

Yes the vaccine has come to market faster than anything else. It appears to work and is safe. So you can either wait for two year follow up or accept that it looks like a winner so far. We do have follow up at least 120 days out where we likely would seen the serious side effects but again the choice is up to you.

Choose wisely. I start another week of ICU on Monday and we have more Covid than we have in months many of whom are younger than you would think and many of whom will die. I can tell you personally the fear of the vaccine isn’t as great for me as the fear of myself or a loved one being on the other side of an endotracheal tube

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I don’t plan on taking it myself. Like @Bdubz said, not enough is known about side effects. I love to travel though and I feel like I won’t have a choice, if I want to be able to travel.

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This is really an excellent post. I’d like to hear you talk to John and Wai again soon, to specifically talk about the vaccine.

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I’m no expert Brad. And neither are any of you. I just read the facts published by the pharmaceutical companies themselves, established medical journals and trusted news sites.

Your flippant derisory response is typical of someone who cannot provide evidence to rebut what I have said. If you can provide evidence that answers the questions I posed then I would love to be directed to it so that I can read it and form an informed opinion rather than one based on fear or hope.

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Something tells me that actual doctors giving facts or people who work for organizations that are either directly involved in the fight against COVID on the front-lines and have a much more qualified knowledge of how to interpret the released data, or works for one of the national organizations that is responsible for the regulation of these vaccines - you’d still be sticking to your opinion.

Because two different people in this thread are exactly that and have responded to you.

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Shows how little you understand vaccine development if you think doctors can speak to the safety and how regulators can be swayed by politics.

Do some research. I’ll even help you out.

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I believe we do have an expert, scroll up and read.

How long are you planning to wait to see if there are any side effects? 1 month, 1 year? And why have you chosen that date? Sometimes you have to take the plunge into the unknown. And leave hard decisions up to the actual experts.

I know I don’t live the healthiest lifestyle, and I bet you don’t either. We put so much crap into our bodies by choice, but a vaccine to prevent sickness comes along, that’s where you want to only put the best into your body.

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You bet wrong. At least with that incorrect conclusion you jumped to it didn’t do you any harm other than make you look rather silly. Jumping to the wrong conclusion about the safety of an unproven vaccine could carry far more serious repercussions.

And I hope you aren’t saying Alex is the expert as he is a doctor who (and correct me if I am wrong Alex) has had nothing to do with the development of any of these vaccines. And even if he has, he still wouldn’t be an expert as the data doesn’t exist to be able to state the answers to the questions.

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Like speaking to a brick wall.

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Yes, speaking to you is like speaking to a thick brick wall.