Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Fully Vaccinated

COVID vaccine shot, 28 days later...

On my last visit to the Long Beach Convention Center, I made my follow up appointment for vaccine shot number two. I figured the sequel would be much like the original. I was wrong.

The first surprise was that my school district decided that we were going to open to in-person classes. So, instead of heading from home to the vaccination site, I was going to have to leave from the school site (which is a bit farther away as I don't work for Long Beach's school district). 

And, I had hoped to leave early. But, the principal had an all staff meeting that afternoon...

Okay, this is a bit of a story. Normally I wouldn't be invited to the all staff meeting, but with the long-term and how things were opening up for us, I ended up needing to attend this meeting. All the whys and wherefores are way too complicated for this post.

I left campus in a bit of a panic. I figured I was going to be stuck in line for hours. 

I had scheduled my appointment for 3:56 PM. I got to the convention center at roughly 3:50. 

And... There was no line. 

I pulled up. Checked in. (It was a drive up site.) Pulled into the parking lot. Got my shot. And by 3:59 I was parked in the observation area where we were to wait fifteen minutes just in case.

This was my view...

See all those cones? That was the feeder line for cars. Notice there are no cars? If you can see those smokestacks in the distance, that's the Queen Mary.

To my right was this building...

I didn't have a chance to take pics before this as it went so quickly. Way, way different than the first time.

And so, now I have had two shots. I'll be officially fully vaccinated in two weeks (April 13th). 

I worked the next day and felt fine (other than a very sore arm), until I left campus that day. Then I got home. And that's when I felt it. I was so, so tired. And warm and cold at the same time. I went to bed very early, but I was fine the next day.

If you have not had a chance to be vaccinated yet, I hope you're able to get in really, really soon.

35 comments:

  1. Weird no one was there in line.
    A lot of people say it hits a bit later with the second one. Glad you got through it.

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  2. So glad the side effects were minor and short. My husband goes today and I go tomorrow but these are only our first vaccines. At least we are finally able to get them started!

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  3. I got my first shot yesterday. So far no issues, but yes, I have the sore arm. My next shot is scheduled in 3 weeks, so it'll be mid May before I hit that two week post-shot threshold.

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    1. Yay! The sore arm is a doozy, but it's a small price to pay. I wouldn't worry about having any more of a reaction than that.

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  4. I'm glad you didn't have to wait. :) Be well!

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    1. Yes, I was so happy not to have to spend hours in line.

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  5. Great news! I have an appointment for the 16th to get the first dose. I actually had a choice of three kinds.

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  6. I was wondering how the drive-up sites handled the observation period. (We don't have any drive-up sites in our area.)

    Yay for being fully vaccinated!!

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  7. What? No lines? That's anti-climactic. I haven't been able to find a free appointment up north unless I'm willing to drive several hours, so I'm still hunkered down, waiting. Congrats on getting yours done.

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    1. Really? I hope an appointment opens up soon. I'm sorry that your city isn't doing something. None of our sites are charging for the shot.

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  8. Both my vaccinations (a NY State facility) were smooth and no lines. No photography, either. And no Queen Mary. All I got to see was a shopping plaza! As you can imagine, it was all indoors - in a big tent. As of yesterday, everyone over 16 is eligible now. My son got his appointment quickly and got his first shot last week, which is a big relief for me as he's been working at his job (no public contact) in the building this entire time.

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    1. California is opening up 16+ on the 15th. I'm amazed at how fast it's going now.

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  9. It's weird how the vaccine affects people. My mom said all she got was a headache. My brother said he felt sick all day. I have no idea what to expect when I finally get mine.

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    1. Yes, here too my friends have had same stories to tell.

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  10. Awesome! I will be getting my first dose tomorrow. :)

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  11. I'm glad you got your second shot! I'm still waiting to be eligible, hope to have my first shot before summer...

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  12. Well done you've got yourself fixed up. This is great news,

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  13. Glad you're done. One more step towards normalcy.

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    1. Yes, although our schools are still in this weird phase, at least through this school year. Stay tuned next week for all about that :)

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  14. I'm glad you got through it quickly. Some people experience horrible things after the second shot. Several of my husband's co-workers did, and he was so thankful he said no. NC just opened shots to everyone (half the state is already vaccinated) and I know where to get the J&J if I am forced.

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  15. I'm so glad you got it quickly. Take care! I'm still not eligible for one so fingers crossed.

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  16. So glad you got your second shot. Me too. And I was incredibly tired the second night too and had a sore arm too, but that was it.

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  17. Glad it went well and so smoothly, and you didn't too much of adverse reactions.
    I am planning to getting my first shot tomorrow. It's walk-in registration at the hospital near my home. Let me see how it goes.

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  18. i'm glad you got yours done and made it in time. Whenever I get mine done, I hope I have no ill effects except for a sore arm which I have when I get the flu shot

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    1. Reactions seem to run the gamut. Plan to have nothing to do the next day, and I'm sure you'll be fine.

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  19. I've had shot #1 (Pfizer). I had joint and muscle pain and a headache off and on, but it sure beats Covid.

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    1. Yup. I don't want to risk COVID, not for minor irritations from taking the vaccine.

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  20. Thanks to the new ruling on AstraZeneca (with the blood clots) the Aussie schedule has now blown out so I am not even sure if I will get my shots this year. Will have to see. I really want to be vaccinated!

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  21. I finally got my second shot yesterday

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