My Vaccine Experience

By: EllaRain Mordente '21

When I found out I was eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine I was very excited and signed up to get it immediately. My dad and I did a little research on each vaccine so that we could decide which was best for me to get. We ended up going with Pfizer as it said it was the best for people under the age of 18… and I’m pretty sure that people under the age of 18 can’t get the others. I had never been more excited to get a shot even though I was super nervous because I hate needles. But knowing that getting this shot was protecting me and others, and allowing my life to get closer to being normal, made everything that came with it worth it.

As many of you probably know, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine are two separate shots that you get 2-3 weeks apart from each other. When I got my first shot I was so terrified that it would be painful, so I shut my eyes really tight and to my surprise, I couldn’t really feel it! It was the least painful thing in the world, I was shocked. And after that I had to wait for 15 minutes in the car with the windows rolled down and the doors unlocked in case I had any weird symptoms, and not to my surprise, I didn’t. Later that night my arm started to get really sore, I’m very glad I didn’t get it in my dominant arm, that wouldn’t have been fun. The pain was more of a dull pain, and you could only feel it if you were moving your arm or touching it. But after a day and a half that pain was practically gone and that was the only symptom I got.

The second shot was a wee bit different. It wasn’t painful and my arm wasn’t really sore, but the next day was intense. But just to preface this, I had work the day after getting my shot so my symptoms were aggravated. For me it kind of felt like I had the flu without feeling sick, that's the best way I could describe it. It almost felt like things were moving in slow motion and I was pretty light headed, and at one point I had the chills. But probably the most noticeable thing was the body aches. Because I had to work I was on my feet all day which made my body aches worse, but the middle of my back was not having a good time. It was probably some of the worst back pain I had felt, which isn’t saying much as I am 17 years old and haven’t really experienced back pain! But once I got home and off my feet the back pain went away, so I wouldn’t worry about that symptom as long as you aren’t going to be on your feet for a long period of time after getting the second dose of vaccine. But even when I was off my feet I had mild body aches that were more annoying than painful.

The symptoms sound a lot scarier than they actually are; if I had to do it again, I wouldn’t even hesitate. The faster we all get vaccinated, the faster we can get back to seeing everyone, having parties, going to concerts, and not be at risk of contracting a deadly virus. I was able to get my vaccine earlier than a lot of people my age because of my work, but now everyone aged 16 and older can get the vaccine, so sign up! Let’s do our part to protect ourselves and others.