I Took the COVID-19 Vaccine. Here’s How I Felt

My 3-day journey after getting immunised, and the side effects I experienced

I rarely get letters sent home. Everything for me is paperless, so when I saw not one, but three delivered home, I was curious what they would be.

We have sent you this letter because you have recently been identified as someone who may be at increased risk of becoming seriously unwell from coronavirus and have been asked to shield. Experts therefore recommend you receive the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible.

An increased risk of becoming unwell, and having to shield, and my last hospital visit was over 15 years ago!

I’m 27 and fortunately, have no underlying health conditions (or at least none that I’m aware of) so I wondered why I was selected.

Perhaps it was because of my medical history. When I was young, and I mean really young, (think of a 2-year-old) I had a lot of health problems like suffering from epilepsy, eczema, and asthma. Fortunately, I grew out of those, but of course, they’d be marked on my health record for life.

Or perhaps it was because I was from the Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community who were supposedly at a much higher risk of developing severe symptoms if they caught the virus.

Still, COVID-19 wasn’t just any old virus, and I was grateful for being offered the chance to get an early vaccination.

The Process

In the UK, vaccination clinics have been set up across the country, and as of the end of February, over 18.7m people have had their first dose. That’s a quarter of the entire population!

After going online, I found a vaccination slot for the very next evening and booked it. Why couldn’t all government initiatives be this speedy?

The next day, I went to the clinic, which was only a 25-minute walk. Even if it wasn’t for COVID, walking is always worthwhile doing.

After showing my booking, I was shepherded into a large holding area with seats placed 2m apart. My first impressions were that it felt like an airport lounge. Large screens with flashing names dotted the room, and every few minutes, a woman would arrive and call out one of them.

15 minutes later, it was my turn to be called.

They took me into a waiting area. Doctors came and went, and I even saw soldiers in uniforms, presumably to help with the vaccine rollout.

A doctor called me into a small room, and asked questions about my medical history, including whether I had any allergies, or if I had experienced COVID-19 symptoms in the past.

After writing my name and the dosage number that I’d be getting on a flimsy paper card, that’s when I knew not everything about this rollout was perfect. I was given the paper card and told to keep it safe as I would need it to receive my second dose.

I could already picture thousands of people showing up to their second dose appointment and saying that they’d lost their card, so I hope for the doctor’s sake, they’re prepared for that.

I was called again, into yet another room (why was it such a maze?) and this time, it would be for the injection itself. After a moment of pain, I could go home.

Was that it?

On my way out, I noticed something that would definitely create future delays. A man was speaking to the receptionist about how he had booked a slot only to be told he never clicked confirm. Nothing was on the system, and no amount of arguing would change that.

If there’s anything that would slow down the vaccination effort, it would be because of careless patients, not careless doctors.

Day 1 Side Effects

The most common side effects people experience after taking the vaccine are:

• A sore arm
• Feeling tired
• Feeling achy
• A feeling of being unwell or sick

So how did it affect me?

Well, initially, I had no issues. My vaccine appointment was in the evening, so after I got home, I felt completely fine.

Since side effects normally kick in 8 hours later, I knew the next day wouldn’t be fun.

Day 2 Side Effects

I did not sleep well at all that night. I woke up feeling incredibly fatigued and could feel a throbbing headache.

Luckily, it was a Friday, but I knew it wouldn’t be a productive end to the week. Getting up, I noticed I felt very cold, and my body was aching.

It wasn’t a great start.

I expected this to happen anyway, but as someone who rarely got sick, it wasn’t a pleasant feeling. Paracetamol would help, but these things take time, and the only real solution would be to get plenty of fluids and rest, anyway.

I hated sleeping during the day. I’d only ever rest if I had a long flight and was experiencing jetlag. Of course, I had been nowhere abroad all year, so I knew this tiredness feeling was serious, and my body needed rest.

I later woke up and felt disorientated, with aches still plaguing my body. Not long now, I told myself.

If you ever receive the COVID-19 vaccination and need to know one thing, it’s that you accept you won’t be doing much the day after the injection.

Day 3 Side Effects

I didn’t set an alarm today since I wanted to get as much rest as I could. Plus, it was a Saturday so I could afford to have a lie-in.

I woke up expecting more pain, but I was pleasantly surprised. The only side effect I continued to experience was soreness in my arm where the injection had gone.

I still felt a slight headache at the front of my head, but the body aches, and temperature? They were gone!

It’s strange how quickly the side effects disappear. The previous day, I felt like it would take a week to recover, but perhaps that’s just the body’s resilience.

I continued the day with no issues, and by the evening, even the headache had gone.

My COVID-19 vaccine side effect journey had ended, although I missed the strange nostalgic feeling I only get when I fall ill.

Perhaps I was unlucky, or perhaps the AstraZeneca vaccine is more potent than Pfizer. Either way, I was told the side effects from the second dose would be a little stronger than in the first dose, so that’s something to look forward to!

If you’re someone who’s naturally afraid of vaccines, remember that the only reason you get chills and aches is that that’s how your immune system responds whenever it gets a threat.

It’s not that the virus is infecting you, it’s just your body fighting the encoded DNA of the virus. Because it’s not an actual threat, you only need a day or two to recover. And once that happens, then at least your body has a fighting chance if the real virus comes.

Getting the vaccine is worth it. Don’t be afraid because if I can endure it, and millions of elderly people can endure it, so can you.