It was a normal Sunday morning, the sunlight creeping through the gaps in my gigantic curtains having woken me up. I went through my messages and saw that I’d received a huge one from college - they’re giving out the covid vaccine that very day, at the hospital! If I was groggy at any point before this, that was replaced by sheer excitement and this was the one day that I was completely awake before having my much-needed coffee! I expressed this important piece of news to anyone and everyone I came across that morning, and after getting the green light from my parents, I was as ready as can be.
I’d asked around, if the students at my college were willing to take the vaccine - a lot were apprehensive and wanted to wait it out, to see the number of adverse reactions and how severe they were, which is natural with any new drug. And then there was the whole debacle with not knowing Covaxin’s efficacy still, so I opted for Covishield which fortunately, was being dispensed at the hospital.
Before I knew it, my friend and I were in the car and turning into the hospital. This was when the anxiety and uncertainty kicked in - what if by some bizarre means, I experience a severe adverse event? Will my dust allergies have any interaction with the vaccine? What if the whole process goes south? I know, at this point I wasn’t thinking all that rationally, but the fear was real. I tried calming myself down by thinking about how many different stages this vaccine had gone through, how every aspect of it had been analyzed thoroughly, before reaching the public, and that for the most part, it was going to be safe. I’d done my research about the common side effects and how the vaccine works (Covishield contains recombinant, replication-deficient chimpanzee adenovirus vector encoding the SARS-CoV 2 spike glycoprotein) by reading the Covishield fact sheet.
We entered the particular department for the vaccination drive, and the officials took down our personal details and asked us a ton of questions regarding any food allergies, drug allergies, previous history of coronavirus, any other disease we had and most importantly, if we had eaten something strong before showing up. Fifteen minutes of intense leg bouncing and anticipation later, I was ushered into another room and finally got jabbed! I’m happy to say that I almost did not feel anything (thank you sister!). As this whole process was something new to me, in all this confusion, I forgot to inform them that I was left handed and request them to prick me in my right, but oh well. I was observed for over half an hour, for any serious allergic reactions, with all the necessary emergency drugs and equipment at the ready, and was offered a myriad of things to eat. During this time, my parents insisted, no, commanded that I call them, and after asking the usual how I’m doing, they were miffed that I didn’t have a photo of me getting the vaccine! Like that thought had any room in my mind back then!
Cut to two days later, I’m doing fine, the only side effects being pain at the injection site along with a sore arm, fatigue and a tad bit of fever - all of which is expected, not to worry! It definitely feels surreal, and I’m extremely grateful to have gotten it, with the coronavirus having taken away so many people from their families, putting the world at a standstill.
It was a risk, but I definitely think that the pros outweigh the cons because here I am, sitting in my room, missing college for a day, writing about how lucky I was to get vaccinated, all while just feeling slightly blue.