Having relatives and friends who are nurses and work in the medical field, I am quite aware of the possible side effects when getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Common side effects include pain and swelling in the arm where the vaccine shot was made. There’s also a possibility of experiencing fever, chills, headache, and fatigue. These side effects have been clearly laid out on the website of CDC.

When I had the chance to get the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, at first I had hesitations whether to schedule my vaccine appointment or not. It took some conversations with my family and a lot of rereading online through trusted websites before I finally decided to give the vaccine a go.

My appointment schedule was Tuesday, February 9 at 3:55 PM. I arrived 10 minutes before my scheduled shot. At the site, I was asked by one of the staff if I had already filled out the County Pubic Health “Vaccine Form & Consent”. And I said I did.

I was handed with my vaccination card. In there was written the vaccine manufacturer — Pfizer! There was about 10 minutes of waiting time. When my number was called, I proceeded to the vaccination desk where I was met with a couple of friendly medical staff. Looking at a checklist, they asked me some common questions like:

  • Have you ever received a dose of COVID-19 vaccine?
  • Have you ever had an allergic reaction to a component of the COVID-19 vaccine, including polyethylene glycol (PEG)?
  • Have you ever had an allergic reaction to another vaccine (other than COVID-19 vaccine) or an injectable medication?
  • Have you ever had a severe allergic reaction (e.g., anaphylaxis) to something other than a component of COVID-19 vaccine, polysorbate, or any vaccine or injectable medication? This would include food, pet, environmental, or oral medication allergies.
  • Have you received any vaccine in the last 14 days?
  • Have you ever had a positive test for COVID-19 or has a doctor ever told you that you had COVID-19?

I answered NO to all of the above questions.

Next, the attending medical staff let me choose which arm I would get the COVID-19 vaccine in. I said, “left arm, please.” The choice of which arm, left or right, matters, since you may feel pain for a day or two after vaccination, so you may offer your non-dominant arm. My dominant arm is my right and so I offered my left arm for the jab.

The vaccination was quick. I didn’t feel a needle prick, even. The attending medical staff said, “That’s it, you’re done.” Afterwards, I was told to stay for 15 minutes at the waiting room. This part of the vaccination was necessary as CDC recommends an observation period following vaccination for immediate allergic reaction of any severity to the COVID-19 vaccine. Those with a history of anaphylaxis due to any cause should be observed for 30 minutes.

Within this 15-minute observation time, I didn’t feel anything on my arm. No pain, no itch, no numbness, nothing concerning at all! While waiting, I took the time to register for the V-safe. It is a smartphone-based tool that uses text messaging and web surveys to provide personalized health check-ins after you receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

After 15-minutes, I was allowed to leave.

Fast forward to two hours after — I started to feel a little pain around the injection site. But it was nothing compared to the muscle pain I sometimes experience after an intense gym workout.

Fast forward to 9 PM (5 hours after vaccination), as the pain around the injection site increased, I suddenly had a short bout of chills. I had to think that it meant that the vaccine is, indeed, working and doing its job. To stop the chills, I prepared a hot tea with milk and ginger and drank it after sliding under the covers to warm up. After 10 minutes or so, the chills disappeared! I was afraid that it might come back during the night when I sleep. But it never did.

The only thing that bothered me that first night after vaccination was the sore arm. Each time I rolled over on the affected shoulder, the pain consciously woke me up. And I had to roll over the opposite side. Other than that, I was perfectly fine –no fever, no headache, neither fatigue. I checked my arm for swelling and redness — and there was nothing.

The first morning after COVID-19 vaccination felt like just a normal morning. The only difference was that, I did a few minutes of stretching exercise on my affected arm, before I hit the shower. I ate my breakfast, and prepared myself for work.

While at work, I continued to monitor my arm and body for signs of side effects. Later in the afternoon, I got a message from V-safe. It was a link to the monitoring tool to update and report my status/experience.

As I am writing this, it’s already been three days since I had my first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. The pain on my arm was gone. I am thinking of going back to the gym tonight to lift some weights again.

My second dose of the Pfizer vaccine will be in about three weeks. Expect that I will write about it too. I am hoping that my second dose experience will just be as fine as the first one.

Hoping!