Let's talk vaccines!

[Shawna]

So, starting this past Monday, vaccines have become available for everyone of ages 16 and older (which I am 22) in my state. Since vaccines are the key factor for tackling this pandemic, I figured it deserved a thread.

My grandparents from my dad's side of the family are fully vaccinated.
I don't know about my grandparents from my mom's side of the family, and my mom.

But me, my dad, and my brother will probably get our first dose in two or three weeks. My dad wants to wait a bit, so we don't have to go when there is a long-ass wait.

. . .

As much as I have a fear of needles (which I am sure some of you guys can relate) and as much some of you guys are worried about the side effects -- getting vaccinated is the right decision. The more we all face our fears, the quicker this pandemic will end. Remember, you will not only be protecting yourself by getting the vaccine, but those around you too! ♥

I know I cannot force people to make this decision, but I do want to encourage and recommend them to.

 

[Xara]

i haven’t been vaccinated yet as where i live, they’re still only vaccinating elders. my grandmother, on the other hand, received her first dose last week!

 

[jiny]

texas is letting anyone 16+ get the vaccine now so my boyfriend and i both signed up to get our first pfizer dose on friday!!
my dad got his back in january since hes an essential worker, and my grandma just got her first dose a few weeks ago! :")

 

[Seastar]

My area is taking forever and my parents aren't even vaccinated yet. I wish I lived somewhere else.

 

[Burumun]

I'll get mine once it's available for my age group, which doesn't really seem like it's going to be soon, honestly. I think they're still only available if you're 80+ here, and we started vaccinating right at the beginning of the year. At this pace, maybe it'll finally be my turn in a year or two.

 

[Lynnatchii]

I still haven't got it yet. My teachers got their vaccine so i as a student should get it soon since people who have jobs and students comes first (i think). But i hate getting shots, It really terrifies me so much. The only thing that makes me scared is the side effects of it. From my past vaccines, my arm was really in pain for a couple days and leaving me unable to move it without feeling pain. And seeing worse side effects from other people (plus my mind is like thinking the worst of the worst) makes me feel more paranoid about it, i don't know how to feel about that

 

[pochy]

i can’t truthfully vote since i probably won’t be vaccinated until late summer, which is not super soon. austria has been really slow with the vaccine rollout. i’m sometimes shocked to hear that usa vaccinates the same number of people as half of our whole population... in a DAY .

meanwhile we managed to finally pass the 1 million mark this week/month idk. plus many people are rejecting the astrazeneca vaccine, the only one we have, which we still don’t have enough of. honestly this situation is so disheartening

 

[Burumun]

meanwhile we managed to finally pass the 1 million mark this week/month idk. plus many people are rejecting the astrazeneca vaccine, the only one we have, which we still don’t have enough of. honestly this situation is so disheartening

...Did I miss something? Last I checked, we're still using the other vaccines, as well, but admittedly, I've been checking the news less lately. It's a bit old, but from this, it sounds like Schwaz mainly/exclusively got Biontech/Pfizer doses, for instance.

 

[pochy]

...Did I miss something? Last I checked, we're still using the other vaccines, as well, but admittedly, I've been checking the news less lately. It's a bit old, but from this, it sounds like Schwaz mainly/exclusively got Biontech/Pfizer doses, for instance.

well it’s the only one that’s widely available at least in my area. i thought the elderly get the “better” vaccines like moderna but recently by 75 year old grandma in wien got her first astrazeneca dose. it feels like the other vaccines aren’t even an option. plus i’ve heard austria ordered sputnik v to make up for the shortages? so there’s that.

 

[Hype]

I'm probably getting mine in the late spring/early summer.

 

[JemAC]

I have had my first vaccine (in the UK they're not currently vaccinating the under-50s but due to health reasons I had it early), my parents and my sister (also too young to qualify but she's a nurse so was in a priority group) have also had their first doses and my maternal grandparents have had both doses of their vaccine which I'm really pleased about. My two brothers are the only remaining close family that haven't had the vaccine at all yet and will probably be waiting a while but they'll take it when it's offered.

All my family members and most people I know that have had the vaccine have had no problems at all with side effects, only a sore arm really, and all got back to normal activities straight away and about 90% of them received the AstraZeneca vaccine (the others had the Pfizer one) which despite what a lot of news articles abroad are suggesting it's extremely unlikely to leave anyone with lasting health effects. I'm the only person I know unfortunately who suffered after my first vaccine and was unwell for a couple of days but I'd been warned that because I was young, severely underweight and have an awful immune system that I'd feel the effects of it more but I'd also been told that if I caught Covid I probably wouldn't survive it so I'd take the vaccine and a couple of days of sickness over that any day.

 

[Burumun]

well it’s the only one that’s widely available at least in my area. i thought the elderly get the “better” vaccines like moderna but recently by 75 year old grandma in wien got her first astrazeneca dose. it feels like the other vaccines aren’t even an option. plus i’ve heard austria ordered sputnik v to make up for the shortages? so there’s that.

Ah, okay. Yeah, unfortunately, it seems like you get what you get, there's not really a choice right now. As for Sputnik V, last I checked, they're still talking about it, they have yet to actually buy it, and at the end of the day, I feel like any vaccine (that's been approved here) is better than no vaccine.

 

[daringred_]

i haven't had the vaccine yet, and will be lucky if i even get it before summer when i turn 22. last i checked, they're still stuck at priority groups and over 50s only here in the UK. fortunately that means my grandparents have had both their first dose as well as my girlfriend and her parents. (she works in a police station, her parents are over 50.) unfortunately neither of mine have despite one working in a school as a cleaner. would have thought that might put her higher on the list, but apparently not. i'm terrified of needles since i have zero pain tolerance, but i will definitely get it as soon as i'm able to since it's important and beneficial to people outside of myself.

 

[Pyoopi]

April 15th is when the rest of us can start signing up for the vaccines and I have a feeling that will be full on chaos. My mom is getting vaccinated tomorrow and she's really happy she finally secured an appointment. She was so stressed because they would just get booked so fast.

 

[Dunquixote]

My parents already got vaccinated and so has my sister and husband - first one. Today I’m getting mine.

 

[Chris]

My parents have both had the first dose. I'm not expecting to be offered it until summer. There is no where to go in a hurry so I don't mind either way.

 

[xSuperMario64x]

I haven't gotten mine yet but I just received a message last night that I'm now able to get it, so I'm gonna set up an appt soon to get my first dose!

neither of my parents want to get it cause they're terrified that it's part of the "liberal agenda" lol

 

[Pintuition]

Neither of my parents are vaccinated as my area struggled with initial rollout and didn't have enough appointments. Fortunately they've booked times though! I feel kind of guilty already having my first already as I'm in the teacher group for my state. I'll be fully vaccinated in about two weeks or so. I'm high risk so I guess I should be happy I got one. Still, all others in my age group aren't eligible yet and it makes me feel kind of guilty.

One word of comfort I can offer those scared of getting the shot is that I barely felt the needle and it was SO small. I'd say it was 95% painless when it went in that I wasn't sure it even had gone in yet lol.

 

[Imbri]

I just received my first dose this past week. I'll be getting the 2nd in mid-April. It's been a bit of a scramble to find appointments, because my state has been somewhat clunky in the roll-out, but the process at the venues has been very quick and easy (mine was, and others I've talked to say the same). I got the Pfizer, my mom got Moderna (she's got both), and others I know have had J&J. I think it just depends on what is available at the time.

The shot was no worse than getting a flu shot, as far as discomfort. The next day, my arm was a little sore and I had a mild headache, but nothing terrible. I drank plenty of fluids, as advised, and the following day I had no symptoms. the thing that took longest was waiting in my car for 15 minutes afterward, which was required just in case you had a reaction. (My facility wasn't large enough to have everyone waiting inside, so they had us wait in our cars, and nurses were patrolling the lot. If you needed them, you'd honk your horn and flash your lights so they could come to you.)

 

[Limon]

I haven't gotten it yet, and I want to, but I'm also scared at the same time. Needles make me nervous so I'm in no rush.

Both of my parents are vaccinated though!