Sat Mar 13, 2021, 09:07 AM

Emrys (5,957 posts)

Just had my first COVID shot

My wife had hers a couple of weeks ago because she has (well-controlled) asthma. I'm in my early 60s, so it's evidently the turn of my age group round here (west of Scotland, near Glasgow). We've both been given the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine

In both cases, we received a phone call from a practice nurse a couple of days beforehand and fixed up a time slot. We were advised to check the practice's Facebook page before setting out in case there'd been a problem with the supply of the particular batch.

The village health centre car park was as full as I've ever seen it. Everything was well organized. I was booked in for 11.15 am and was out by 11.18. Like my recent flu vaccine, the shot itself was painless. They asked me to sit in my car for five minutes afterwards in case of any immediate reaction, and handed me a card explaining possible side-effects - soreness and redness around the injection site, a day or two's fever etc. My wife suffered no serious ill effects from her jag, just some residual soreness in her arm, so here's hoping.

I don't know how this experience compares to others elsewhere in the UK. I hope any of you, whether you have special need of the vaccine or not, have been able to access it with no delays or problems.

14 replies, 1627 views

Thread info Bookmark this thread Trash this thread

Reply to this thread

Always highlight: 10 newest replies | Replies posted after I mark a forum

Replies to this discussion thread

14 replies	Author	Time	Post
Just had my first COVID shot (Original post)	Emrys	Mar 2021	OP
How cool	Soph0571	Mar 2021	#1
Congratulations	LetMyPeopleVote	Mar 2021	#2
Well, our two-GP, two-nurse practice managed to vaccinate 340 people today!	Emrys	Mar 2021	#3
Just got mine today	LeftishBrit	Mar 2021	#4
My reactions to my shot so far, though these will vary from person to person:	Emrys	Mar 2021	#5
I had slight fatigue and slept very late the following night/morning	LeftishBrit	Mar 2021	#6
Cool, I hope that continues.	Emrys	Mar 2021	#7
Had my second shot today.	Emrys	May 2021	#8
11 weeks, in fact. My 2nd is on Tuesday, which will be exactly 10 weeks	muriel_volestrangler	May 2021	#9
Right, 11 weeks. I must have run out of fingers!	Emrys	May 2021	#10
Had mine on May 26th	LeftishBrit	Jun 2021	#11
Just had my booster, a few days under six months after my last shot.	Emrys	Nov 2021	#12
FWIW, as everybody seems to react differently,	Emrys	Nov 2021	#14
Having my booster on Dec 9th	LeftishBrit	Nov 2021	#13

Response to Emrys (Original post)

Sat Mar 13, 2021, 09:28 AM

Soph0571 (9,652 posts)

1. How cool

I got my text yesterday - first shot on Wednesday next week. I am younger than you but underlying health issues... in London

Reply to this post

Response to Emrys (Original post)

Sat Mar 13, 2021, 11:57 AM

LetMyPeopleVote (115,653 posts)

2. Congratulations

Reply to this post

Response to Emrys (Original post)

Sat Mar 13, 2021, 03:53 PM

Emrys (5,957 posts)

3. Well, our two-GP, two-nurse practice managed to vaccinate 340 people today!

That should make quite a dent in the national percentages if it's being mirrored elsewhere.

All our immediate neighbours seem to have had their first dose now. Hopefully the lower age groups - which include people in occupations that make their need greater than mine - will follow soon.

I did some moderately heavy work in the garden this afternoon, so I suspect the resulting aches will mask any side effects from the vaccine!

Reply to this post

Response to Emrys (Original post)

Sun Mar 14, 2021, 11:48 AM

LeftishBrit (39,917 posts)

4. Just got mine today

At our GP's surgery (they were open Sunday morning specifically for this purpose). All very well-organized.

Reply to this post

Response to Emrys (Original post)

Mon Mar 15, 2021, 10:28 AM

Emrys (5,957 posts)

5. My reactions to my shot so far, though these will vary from person to person:

On the evening after, I felt chilly and a bit wabbit, though I wasn't running a fever. That passed in a few hours after I put on an extra fleecy jacket, and I was fine the next morning.

The muscle where I got the injection is still a bit tender and sore on being pressed - comparable to lactic acid pain after over-exertion (I did do some moderately heavy garden work in the afternoon after my injection, but my other shoulder doesn't have the same problem).

Other than that, no issues to date.

Reply to this post

Response to Emrys (Reply #5)

Wed Mar 17, 2021, 10:10 AM

LeftishBrit (39,917 posts)

6. I had slight fatigue and slept very late the following night/morning

Otherwise, no noticeable side effects

Reply to this post

Response to LeftishBrit (Reply #6)

Wed Mar 17, 2021, 05:02 PM

Emrys (5,957 posts)

7. Cool, I hope that continues.

My shoulder's nearly back to normal, and nothing else out of the ordinary's happened (tempting fate ...).

Reply to this post

Response to Emrys (Original post)

Sat May 29, 2021, 01:25 PM

Emrys (5,957 posts)

8. Had my second shot today.

Again, my wife had hers a couple of weeks ago. That puts the gap between the first and second doses at around 12 weeks, which will hopefully produce the optimal response.

The village health centre was bustling again, and I was in and out in 5 minutes. The nurse asked about any adverse reactions to the previous shot, and I told her about my short-lived mild chill and lassitude. She said most people seem to have less severe reactions to the second dose. She said a symptom of more concern would be a headache that doesn't resolve within 3 or 4 days, in which case to contact the health centre. So far, so good.

Reply to this post

Response to Emrys (Reply #8)

Sat May 29, 2021, 05:11 PM

muriel_volestrangler (98,160 posts)

9. 11 weeks, in fact. My 2nd is on Tuesday, which will be exactly 10 weeks

The numbers show they're gradually getting the gap shorter - average 73 days, now. I think the decision to not use AstraZeneca for under 40s has meant they feel they can give more of those now as a 2nd shot, and with the new variant, getting more people to the full dose faster makes a lot of sense.

Reply to this post

Response to muriel_volestrangler (Reply #9)

Sat May 29, 2021, 05:21 PM

Emrys (5,957 posts)

10. Right, 11 weeks. I must have run out of fingers!

Most people we know around here have now had at least their first shot. It's taken a while to get down to the healthy 40s age range, though - our neighbour who I think is in that group only got his first shot a couple of weeks ago. I don't know which vaccine they gave him.

Reply to this post

Response to Emrys (Reply #8)

Thu Jun 3, 2021, 05:03 PM

LeftishBrit (39,917 posts)

11. Had mine on May 26th

Again no side effects beyond slight fatigue

Reply to this post

Response to Emrys (Original post)

Wed Nov 24, 2021, 07:46 AM

Emrys (5,957 posts)

12. Just had my booster, a few days under six months after my last shot.

Pfizer this time, having previously had the AstraZeneca.

This time, the Health Board has decided to organize matters, rather than the local surgeries, which has caused some ill feeling among medics. There was no phone call to set up a slot, and it was a drop -in service at our village hall rather than by appointment at our medical centre. Nevertheless, I was in and out of there in about quarter of an hour, despite it being a brisk time of day (car park was full).

My wife had her booster at the beginning of the month. She'd had no major reaction to the AstraZeneca (unlike me, who had a chill reaction to the first dose, nothing noticeable after the second), but had a fairly severe one to the Pfizer booster - short-lived (mercifully) flu-like symptoms and feeling off her food, and quite a bad sore arm for a few days.

No one knows how I'm likely to react, but it's a relief to get the booster anyway, as it looks like this pandemic isn't going to be over any time soon.

Reply to this post

Response to Emrys (Reply #12)

Fri Nov 26, 2021, 05:33 PM

Emrys (5,957 posts)

14. FWIW, as everybody seems to react differently,

my only noticeable reaction has been soreness in the shoulder muscle where I got the jag, which may last for a while longer given my wife's experience.

I was a bit slow the next day, but that could be down to any number of things (including the time of year).

Reply to this post

Response to Emrys (Original post)

Fri Nov 26, 2021, 01:50 PM

LeftishBrit (39,917 posts)

13. Having my booster on Dec 9th

Reply to this post

United Kingdom (Group)