I'm vaccinated!

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Word
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I'm vaccinated!

Post by Word »

Thought I'd let you know I got my first AstraZeneca dose last Saturday. This might be interesting for Z-Man and everyone here living in and around Cologne. I had to apply by sending an e-mail with a doctor's certificate attesting my chronic illness to our city's ethics commission to get my shot so soon while most people in Germany are still waiting for an official inivitation to get theirs.
Honestly though, I'm really ******* worried now, thanks to all the news about people dying of cerebral hemorrhage/thrombosis/pulmonary embolism (I have seen someone die of something like that a few years ago. It wasn't pleasant). I'm aware that the risk is super small but now I keep thinking what if I'm one of the very few dead people in 7 days!? I think when it comes to AstraZeneca I really believe it should be halted until it is fixed in some way. Be that as it may, i love you all (ok, some exceptions!) and hope you stay healthy despite all deadly diseases and mostly safe and widely tested vaccines currently in circulation.
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Re: I'm vaccinated!

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There is actually no evidence of increased venous thromboembolism in the population group post-vaccine.

Humans are excellent at drawing conclusions where there are none.
The Halley's comet of Armagetron.
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sinewav
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Re: I'm vaccinated!

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I'm looking forward to getting a vaccine... and having this all under control, around the world. I miss socializing in person. Keep up posted on how you feel in regards to side effects.
Word
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Re: I'm vaccinated!

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sinewav wrote: Thu Apr 01, 2021 6:25 am I'm looking forward to getting a vaccine... and having this all under control, around the world. I miss socializing in person. Keep up posted on how you feel in regards to side effects.
On the day I got it, the punctured section of the arm hurt a little and I had a shivering fit during the night, but it was all over on the next morning. I'm supposed to get my second shot on the 12th of June, but now they say that AZ should only be given to people when they're absolutely sure and the risk/benefit relation is clear. I'm thinking about switching to Pfizer or Moderna if I get the option, but maybe I'll just stick with AZ, since it didn't kill me yet.
i hope you get yours soon! BUT remember it won't protect you perfectly against all the new variants, especially the super-deadly one from South Africa.
Last edited by Word on Fri Apr 02, 2021 5:45 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Z-Man
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Re: I'm vaccinated!

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Don't worry too much. All of the approved vaccines have as near to 100% protection against a deadlty outcome of an infection as one could wish for, even against the mutants (as far as I know). Where they're not perfect is in preventing mild infections and therefore spreading the virus.
sylla: for general thromboembolisms that is true, but the special kind that was observed shortly after AstraSeneca vaccinations is usually really rare. More reseach needed, especially all of the cases need to be looked into, but no need to panic.
Word: Chances of a lethal outcome seem to be smaller than 1 in 100.000, conservatively estimated upward. Each year, chances to die in a traffic accident are, let's see, in 2019 we had 3.046 deaths for 80 million inhabitants, that's about 1 in 30.000. So by going out less last year, you already made back that little extra risk, probably twice :)
As for the second dose, ask your doctor when the time comes. Switching seems to be fine. And maybe they can't even give you AstraZeneca by then.

Z-Girl is considered to be in the high risk group, so she and with two close contact persons, which would be Z-Wife and me, can get vaccinated. Well, Z-Girl herself can't yet, because she's too young, but I started the process of getting an appointment for me. And it's quite a process :) I first had registered on some web portal way early, but never could register my special status there. I thought it was because I was too early (it wasn't our turn yet anyway), so I waited... turned out that portal was only for those to be vaccinated based on age groups. Stated somewhere in the FAQ. The real process is that I have to email some office with the documents from our doctor proving my claim, THEN get some certificate that I can get vaccinated, THEN use that to get an appointment on some other portal that they're only going to tell me when they have processed my case. Heh, Germany. I'm probably going to get my shot faster at my local doctor.
Word
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Re: I'm vaccinated!

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Z-Man wrote:Don't worry too much. All of the approved vaccines have as near to 100% protection against a deadlty outcome of an infection as one could wish for, even against the mutants (as far as I know).
Recently I read that AZ is only 10% effective against the super-deadly South African variant and while it prevents death in most cases, it doesn't have much of an impact on all the other Covid-related symptoms caused by it. Then again, these studies keep changing all the time. I've also read that we are going to have these vaccinations about every 5 months from now on, unless there's significant improvement and they create a universal coronavirus vaccine which has to be injected less often or just once.
Z-Man wrote:The real process is that I have to email some office with the documents from our doctor proving my claim, THEN get some certificate that I can get vaccinated, THEN use that to get an appointment on some other portal that they're only going to tell me when they have processed my case. Heh, Germany. I'm probably going to get my shot faster at my local doctor.
Yup, exactly what I had to do as well. I had to wait about 2 weeks after someone responded to my e-mails (not including the doctor's certificate). Once I got to Cologne's fairground hall, where the vaccinations are conducted, everything went surprisingly smooth. We were divided into small groups and kept moving for 45 minutes until we reached the doctors' rooms. I was the only guy in my small group so I let the women get vaccinated first. When my turn came, some woman appeared out of nowhere and just ran in the doctor's room I was about to enter. I was a little angry about that, but before I could even say anything, the doctor from the adjourning room stuck her head out of the door and told me there's nobody else waiting and I can come in and get my shot.
Z-Man wrote:Well, Z-Girl herself can't yet, because she's too young
Yeah, I've read Pfizer is working on a children's version of their vaccine now, as are other companies I assume. I hope your family gets through this.
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kyle
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Re: I'm vaccinated!

Post by kyle »

I got Moderna dose 1 last week, injection site hurt for a few days, i think the may have placed it too high. I also was slightly more tired for the next few days.


I thought MRNA sounded very promising back in 2018, that's why I wanted to get an MRNA vaccine if possible, turned out moderna was the quickest i could get, but it was the one I wanted, Mainly because in 2018 when i read about MRNA, it was for Moderna's IPO Bought 1 share then, now i am up 600% on it. Too mad I did not buy more.
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sinewav
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Re: I'm vaccinated!

Post by sinewav »

I've always been jealous of you, kyle. Glad to hear you're doing good!
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Z-Man
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Re: I'm vaccinated!

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I got my first shot today! Biontech, because between Word and me they decided to only give AZ it to older people. Word's second dose should also be Biontech by todays recommendations (subject to rapid change). I would have happily taken AstraZeneca, but... not complaining!
The bottleneck in the process seems to be the registration and deliberation. I got the mail that I was cleared to go ahead only yesterday and, had I reacted a bit sooner, could also have gotten an appointment that day.
Getting to the vaccination center was, by today's standards, a small adventure :) I went by bike, naturally. On the way, a food delivery cyclist decided it would be a good idea to pop out behind a big concrete obstacle, entering the bike lane going the wrong way, so we collided a bit. No injuries, minimal damage, I had my emergency tools at hand and could quicky readjust his handlebar which got a bit skewed. Once at the site, I foolishly assumed the main entrance would be open for those arriving by public transport and parked my bike nearby, but nope. Only a side entrance was open. No signs or anything indicating that on the path I took, naturally. And the place is big :) And I was not comfortably early, so I ran a little to the entrance I knew would be open for people arriving by car. And then I worried all that running would make me fail the entrance fever test, but of course it didn't.
And yeah, once inside, the process is smooth. Entrance ID test, move on to first waiting room, rest of paperwork is checked there, go on to the doctors' zone, wait a bit more for a free booth, get the shot, stick around a bit to see if you fall over immediately. The whole thing was done in under 30 minutes. So far, I only have a bit of a muscle ache around the injection spot, which is what i also always get from the flu vaccines. I'm hoping for a tiny bit of fever as proof that my immune system took the bait.

It's all a bit weird... I knew all of the numbers and the cool science behind the vaccines and apart from Z-Wife, all of my adult close relatives who were not infected already have one or two injections... but somehow, only with the mail yesterday, they turned into a real thing. And then turned unreal again for a bit because the process was so quick and left no evidence it even happened. Now that I can feel it, it's real again.
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sinewav
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Re: I'm vaccinated!

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Z-Man wrote: Mon Apr 19, 2021 11:08 pmI got my first shot today! Biontech...
Me too! They opened appointments up for my age group last Thursday. A friend sent me am early AM text saying he had an appointment for April 28th and pushed me to sign up soon. I didn't, and several hours later when I went to the website all the appointments were taken. But, I decided to keep trying and was able to get one today, even earlier than my "early-bird" friend.

There was a long wait to get in. I failed the first temperature check because I had been standing in the sun for 20 minutes. I was like "hey, try the other side of my head, there was less sun on it." I passed. Everything went smoothly. I had to wait in the observation area for 30 minutes as a precaution because years ago I had a strong reaction to an injected medication. I tend to get nervous when taking any drug, and this was no exception. After 30 minutes I felt fine and went home. It's been a few hours and I have a slight headache and sniffles, which is the same reaction I get from the influenza vaccine every year.

Still nervous about getting the second dose. Also still really nervous about being in public. I went to a restaurant yesterday to pick up some food and the place had tons of people inside dining. I was like, "nope, not into this."
Word
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Post by Word »

sinewav wrote:There was a long wait to get in. I failed the first temperature check because I had been standing in the sun for 20 minutes. I was like "hey, try the other side of my head, there was less sun on it." I passed.
Hahahahaha
Z-Man wrote:I got my first shot today! Biontech, because between Word and me they decided to only give AZ it to older people. Word's second dose should also be Biontech by todays recommendations (subject to rapid change). I would have happily taken AstraZeneca, but... not complaining!
Firstly, I'm so happy you guys will still be with us for some time (unless you get struck by lightning or something else, that is)!

Secondly, yes, I only got notified after I asked the vaccination website's general feedback thing if I get something other than AZ for my second shot and a week ago they said it's either Biontech or Moderna.

Also, my parents and grandmothers are vaccinated now(grandfathers died before Covid)! A little worried about my two sisters who actually have mild asthma.

My parents live in Rhineland-Palantine which is basically more backwards in many regards than a stereotypical rural area/red state in the US. Rhineland-Palatine now has a policy that overweight people get prioritized. I can only guess it's because so many fat people live there that it really doesn't make a difference and it's just a PR stunt to get more overweight people there. (Actually, I'm aware that Covid seems to affect the overweight more, but I still think this is an example for symbolic politics.)

As for my super-skinny (ok, far-below-average-overweight) parents, they suddenly got an appointment at 3 pm last Saturday in the city's makeshift vaccine center and benefitted from some leftover vaccines. There were like 20 000 other people who got their appointment at 3 pm.
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Z-Man
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Re: I'm vaccinated!

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I got my second dose 14 days ago! Z-Wife got hers last Thursday. We can add to the anecdotal evidence that the second provokes stronger reactions. The first dose just had me a bit tired for a day, the second one for three. Z-Wife got a little fever and slept for 40 hours straight :) Still, the strongest side effect for me is euphoria, so... yes. Recommended, five stars, would buy again.

Get it if you can, every vaccinated person gets everyone closer back to normal life, no matter where they live; but keep in mind that if you're getting the vaccine this early, you're privileged/lucky/blessed, that there is no 100% protection and the virus we will have to face in the coming month (delta variant or something even worse) is much more contagious than the one we barely managed to keep from spreading to everyone last year. We'll keep wearing our masks as appropriate.
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kyle
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Re: I'm vaccinated!

Post by kyle »

Glad to hear z-man. I think i'm 6 weeks now, (stopped counting after 2)

Ya that second dose of moderna was interesting. It was like intermittent, feel sick, then back to fine. but that only lasted maybe 3 days. sleepiness was also there too. Definitely worth getting it to know that if you were to get covid, effects would mostly be mild/unnoticeable. Drinking lots of water and taking some pain meds also helps with the effects.
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Word
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Re: I'm vaccinated!

Post by Word »

i also got my second shot last week - moderna. felt like when someone shot a soccer ball against my head...but I was fine again after 2 days.
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Re: I'm vaccinated!

Post by IZZIMAHIZZI »

glad to hear you're vaccinated word and doing well, long time no see!
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