Second Verse Worse than the First

 I got my second COVID vaccine a little over a week ago. And oh boy is the second dose worse than the first. About  4-5 hours after getting the second dose, I started feeling sick. Fever, chills, body aches...the basic flu symptoms. 

My supervisor got her shot 5mins before me and took this super flattering photo

Thankfully I had gotten my shot on a Saturday afternoon, because I was pretty much bed bound for 24hrs. Getting up to go to the bathroom was exhausting, but I was so hot I couldn't sleep. Even taking the max amount of nsaids, my fever peaked at 100. Luckily I didn't have any nausea or vomiting, so I was able to stay hydrated and eat a little bit with my nsaids. Two of my coworkers spent the night vomiting, and my supervisor wasn't able to keep anything down for over 24hrs. 

My fever broke almost exactly 24hrs after it started, and I was able to sleep that second night. I did go into work Monday morning, but just did the essentials and went home after four hours because I was exhausted. By Tuesday, three days post vaccine, I felt fine. 

Obviously having 24hrs of symptoms is way, way better than getting COVID. I do recommend that you take the day off work after getting the second dose, and if you have pets/horses to care for, have someone around to help.

Round 1 Done

Disclaimer: Not Horse Related

 I got my first COVID-19 vaccine yesterday! Monday, the director of my department at work sent out an email saying that the Oregon Vet Med Association had petitioned the Oregon Health Authority to classify people working in vet med to be included in Phase 1A of vaccine distribution. And the OHA agreed. 

Now, I don't work in traditional vet med, but I'm an essential employee caring of animals and perform a lot of the same tasks that vet techs and vet assistants do. My director contacted OVMA to specifically ask about us lab animal techs, and they said we were included in Phase 1A. So she forwarded us the info and about two minutes after reading the email I was signing up for my vaccine appointment. 

For my insurance, the only site giving vaccines for vet med workers was a hospital 45mins away. But whatever, I'm happy to drive that to get the vaccine. It turns out that two of my coworkers also signed up for appointments within 5 minutes of me, so the three of us carpooled. We did wear masks the whole time, but we've been working together during the whole pandemic and figured we're in each others bubbles enough that it was ok. 

The shot itself was quick and easy. I did have a slight burning sensation, and they made us sit around for 15mins afterwards to make sure no one had any severe reactions. My arm was sore last night, and this morning, but some Tylenol and it's fine. Hopefully I won't have any other reactions when I get dose 2 in three weeks.