Covid 19 - Thoughts and feelings

[Opaque]

In the USA, at least, they're advising people NOT to take anti-inflammatories before getting vaccinated; they think it might reduce the response to the vaccine in some cases.

Yeah, I didn't want to take any medicine because of that but feeling as bad as I did after the shot I couldn't help it. Luckily the fever doesn't last too long for those who get one and is usually not as bad as what I got.

[Jitter]

Finland prolonged the time gap between the shots to three months, so I will be getting my second shot about 3 weeks from now. The interesting thing is that I got the AZ first, but since it has now been banned for my age group, I’ll be getting a different one! Most likely Pfizer. I am not sure I’m happy with this, but that’s the way it’s going to be. I get fever easily so I’m expecting to get rather miserable for a while. With the AZ I only got some soreness in the arm.

Now there of course isn’t any data as to how good my immunity will be after a mixed vaccination, but I guess it’s going to be somewhat helpful. And chances are we’ll be needing further shots later anyways...

[wavewright62]

NZ is doing their rollout more slowly than other countries, mostly because our borders are still closed and we have to wait for our shipments of vaccine.  It's confirmed most of us will be getting the Pfizer one now.  The border workers and families are pretty much all done now and the second tier of healthcare workers and residents of aged care facilities is well underway.  The third group of elderly and chronically ill (where I fall) is supposed to get started in May but realistically I probably won't get mine until late June or July.  The populace in general is to get theirs by the end of the year.

[Róisín]

Good news for NZ, Wavewright! I would prefer the Pfizer, it certainly seems safer, but we will get what we get, and I suppose it is better to save the safer vaccines for younger people. It may also be that the immune systems of older people have been exposed to enough things over time that they are less likely to have an extreme reaction. I am somewhat concerned about the reaction for myself, since I react badly to the flu vaccine, but to nowhere near the level that my cousin and two of my kids do: they had the full anaphylactic shock thing and wound up in hospital, but the other kids were okay. Star is usually fine with vaccines, and has had his first AstraZeneca shot. He is in hospital with other problems, so he is in the best place if something else goes wrong, and he seems to be okay with the vaccine reaction after a week - nothing more than a sore arm and slight fever so far. I am hopeful.

[Sc0ut]

I'm fully vaccinated now (Pfizer). I was perfectly fine after the first dose - helped a friend renovate her house, lifting heavy things etc - right the day after, but after the second shot (which was two days ago) I got a low grade malaise and muscle soreness that didn't seem to improve with ibuprofen. I just waited it out and am feeling pretty much normal today.

I'm surprised that as a relatively young person with no chronic illness (and also not a "key worker") living in Eastern Europe, I was able to get the vaccine sooner than some in more Western parts. Dealing with this pandemic has really been all over the place, huh.

Speaking of access to vaccines, those of you who are EU citizens might want to look at this petition that hopes to push for a more globally equal access to vaccines. This is a complex situation and I'm still gathering information about it myself, but between companies seeking profit and countries declaring embargo on medical supplies, we are in situation where, for instance, India (which is one of the lead global producers of vaccines) exports more doses than they use for their own population, even amid a very aggressive second wave and internal demands for more vaccines. Or where poorer countries buy the same vaccine at a higher price than more affluent ones. So people are dying unnecessary deaths especially in poor countries, ironically some of the same countries that help protect the rest of the world with vaccines. It's a situation I'm uncomfortable with, and certainly one petition that largely pertains to Europe will not solve this multi-continent issue, but it can be a step in the right direction.

[Róisín]

Thank you for posting that information, Sc0ut. I can’t make links, or would have done so. It is an important issue.

[Vulpes]

Congrats on being fully vaccinated, Sc0ut! I hope that immunity lasts a good while and you won't need a booster soon. So many unknowns in this pandemic.

Thanks for the links - it's a really tangly issue, and so hard to keep track of all the angles. I feel slightly guilty that I'll be getting a vaccine next week, while India is in such a state, but at the same time, I'd be mad to say no - it wouldn't help India in the least. Best to get informed and press our government to provide meaningful help to less wealthy countries - they've provided some, but it was a drop in the bucket.

[Sc0ut]

Congrats on being fully vaccinated, Sc0ut! I hope that immunity lasts a good while and you won't need a booster soon. So many unknowns in this pandemic.

Thanks for the links - it's a really tangly issue, and so hard to keep track of all the angles. I feel slightly guilty that I'll be getting a vaccine next week, while India is in such a state, but at the same time, I'd be mad to say no - it wouldn't help India in the least. Best to get informed and press our government to provide meaningful help to less wealthy countries - they've provided some, but it was a drop in the bucket.

Oh for sure, nobody is arguing we should refuse the vaccine if we have access to it. Every immunised person helps those around them and by extension the world, since we're so interconnected these days. It's a matter of being aware of the global picture and of putting civic pressure where we can for things to improve.

As for the help governments (as well as corporations or other powerful entities) provide, it's sadly often a matter of giving with one hand and taking with the other. In the case of the US for instance, stopping the embargo on supplies used to make vaccines would help more, as well as be a more dignified response, than providing aid that is entirely at the discretion of the giver (and helps their image as well).

[lumilaulu]

Finland prolonged the time gap between the shots to three months, so I will be getting my second shot about 3 weeks from now. The interesting thing is that I got the AZ first, but since it has now been banned for my age group, I’ll be getting a different one! Most likely Pfizer. I am not sure I’m happy with this, but that’s the way it’s going to be. I get fever easily so I’m expecting to get rather miserable for a while. With the AZ I only got some soreness in the arm.

Now there of course isn’t any data as to how good my immunity will be after a mixed vaccination, but I guess it’s going to be somewhat helpful. And chances are we’ll be needing further shots later anyways...

I'm glad my country has decided that young people (40 and younger) who got a first AZ shot will also get the second AZ shot, as there is no data on the effectiveness of mixing vaccines, especially considering Pfizer/BioNtech and AstraZeneca use very different methods. I believe there is also data from the UK that shows that if you didn't have side-effects after the first AZ shot, you're unlikely to get any after the second one. Two of my friends (early 20s and early 30s) got the first one just as the whole potential side-effect controversy erupted, and they will get their second one soon.

I'm kind of annoyed about all this AZ discrediting so many countries (and individual people) are doing. Any vaccine is better than no vaccine. Any side-effect you might get from a vaccine you'd have likely got far worse from the actual illness.

I would accept any of the ones approved by the EMA, but I'm not expecting my turn before late June.

[Groupoid]

Recently the swiss government* allowed the general public (no chronic illness, etc.) to get vaccinated. It felt like the complement of the day when the first case was found in Switzerland. A sign that the whole thing might end soon. I expect autumn (for Switzerland), if no vaccine-resistant mutation comes up or somesuch.

I hope you can get vaccinated if you want to and stay healthy either way.

*details are more complicated. The covid vaccinations are organized by the cantons and not by the federal government so each canton decides on its own who may get a shot. (With the "usual" vaccines it isn't like this) And what really happened was, that many cantons at the same time began vaccinating people in general (over 16y or 18y depending on canton )

[thorny]

USA is now open to anybody over 12, at least in theory; and in a lot of places in practice because -- bah -- there are so many vaccine resisters that there may not be enough people willing to get vaccinated to stop this thing.

Despite which, they've announced that the vaccinated don't need to wear masks -- with, in most situations, no way to tell who's actually been vaccinated. And a lot of the vaccine-resistant are also mask-resistant. I'm afraid that what we might be doing is creating a lively reservoir of people mixing up together creating variants -- the vaccines seem to be functional against the existing variants, but who knows about what might come up next?

[Vulpes]

USA is now open to anybody over 12, at least in theory; and in a lot of places in practice because -- bah -- there are so many vaccine resisters that there may not be enough people willing to get vaccinated to stop this thing.

Despite which, they've announced that the vaccinated don't need to wear masks -- with, in most situations, no way to tell who's actually been vaccinated. And a lot of the vaccine-resistant are also mask-resistant. I'm afraid that what we might be doing is creating a lively reservoir of people mixing up together creating variants -- the vaccines seem to be functional against the existing variants, but who knows about what might come up next?

I have a friend in VT who is really frustrated with this decision. VT actually has a pretty high vaccination rate, probably approaching what's necessary for herd immunity, but in other states I can totally see what you envision happening. It seems incredibly naïve to propose lifting the mask mandate for those who are fully vaccinated - surely they can't be so stunned that they don't realise what a giant loophole they've just created?

[Sc0ut]

USA is now open to anybody over 12, at least in theory; and in a lot of places in practice because -- bah -- there are so many vaccine resisters that there may not be enough people willing to get vaccinated to stop this thing.

Despite which, they've announced that the vaccinated don't need to wear masks -- with, in most situations, no way to tell who's actually been vaccinated. And a lot of the vaccine-resistant are also mask-resistant. I'm afraid that what we might be doing is creating a lively reservoir of people mixing up together creating variants -- the vaccines seem to be functional against the existing variants, but who knows about what might come up next?

In my country they have done away with the mask requirement for everyone, except in some places like stores (but not gyms and restaurants...). Despite the fact that there is a huge amount of population that's anti-vaccine and even covid deniers here as well, and data about the vaccination rate is not public.

For the sake of my mental health I have decided to just focus on my own behaviour and let others do as they please. I think this pandemic exposed people's selfishness, and this makes me feel pretty unsafe and quite hopeless for those even more vulnerable than me. When it comes to viruses at least there are simple measures one can take to protect themselves to some degree regardless of what other people do, but you need a functional society to solve other problems and ensure everyone has a decent life, and this pandemic made it abundantly clear that many of us don't live in functional societies.

[Róisín]

Sc0ut, that is sadly true, whether because of government apathy, denial, selfishness, living in a failed society or whatever. Australia has done fairly well so far, and I hope will continue to do so, since we seem to be able to at least suspend political differences when it saves lives. I hope we can continue so. Part of it, I think, was early and thorough lockdowns and a population and government willing to endure a bit of discomfort and inconvenience and to do things that don’t directly and personally benefit them and only them for the sake of surviving as a country and a culture. Hoping, hoping........

[steadfastjewel]

As of tomorrow I'll be at two shots + 2 weeks post, the US standard. Feels a bit freaky seeing my immediate environs getting back to 'normal'... in some ways normal feels like a dangerous pretense, now. Nonetheless I am very happy to be in good physical health, and I hope that those of you in other nations see more vaccines soon!