I Got My Covid Vaccine Today

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I’m very glad to be able to say that I have taken a big step back towards resuming a normal life by getting my first Covid vaccine today.

T

he past year has obviously been dominated by the news of the global Covid pandemic and as I write there are stories of increasing fatalities and new variant strains emerging around the world. At times it feels like you need to take a dose of antidepressants before sitting down to watch the news!

The one positive piece of news has been the development of a number of vaccines to Covid by several pharmaceutical companies around the world.

Some of the vaccines developed are using newer technology which uses a genetic material called mRNA which essentially trains your body to create a defence against the Covid virus.

The full explanation of how it works is fairly complex but if you’d like to read about it, I found an article which explain the process quite well and in everyday language here:

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/explained-a-visual-guide-to-how-the-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-works-1.4436433

Other vaccines use a more conventional method of vaccine manufacture which involves modifying the structure of a virus to make it unable to cause infection but still able to generate an immune response.

Again, the full explanation is quite complex but if you would like to read more about the technology then a good article to read is:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/health/oxford-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine.html

The different technologies provide different levels of protection ranging from around 65% up to around 95%. While this might seem to be quite a variation and it might appear that the lower levels of protection are not very good, the fact is that even at the lower end of the scale it compares very favourably with the protection offered by other vaccines.

My Experience

Here in the UK the vaccine created by Pfizer and BioNTech was approved in early December and started being given to the most vulnerable patients in the country, particularly the very elderly such as those in care homes, as well as health professionals working in hospitals and care homes too.

(The Oxford, Astra Zeneca vaccine is now being rolled out too)

My brother, who is a doctor working in the Emergency department of a hospital in Glasgow and my daughter who is a midwife in Edinburgh, both got their vaccine in December.

As a pharmacist working in a community setting, I am among the next tier of healthcare workers to be offered the vaccine and we started to receive it this week.

You might be aware that the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine needs to be stored at very low temperatures and so it is currently being given mainly at large vaccination centres. This morning I went for my appointment to the Ulster Hospital in Belfast.

These large-scale programs have a history of teething problems, usually caused by bureaucracy and logistical problems but I was in and out of the vaccination centre in under 40 minutes.

The process involved a small amount of paperwork (of course!) before I was shown to the vaccine administration area. I was taken straight away to a room where I confirmed my details with the nurse administering the vaccine.

I was then given the vaccine by injection into the deltoid muscle, which is the muscle at the top of your outer arm. I can honestly say that the injection was completely painless.

Finally, I was taken to another room to sit for 15 minutes. This is a precaution to ensure that I didn’t develop a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) to the vaccine before I was allowed to make my way home.

It’s now 10 hours since I had the vaccine and I have some mild pain in the muscle where I got the injection, but no other side effects. Friends and colleagues who got the vaccine earlier this week reported a sore arm for about 24 hours and a few had a mild fever or headache. These are all normal reactions to any vaccine. Those I know, who had it several weeks ago have had no other issues.

Is The Covid Vaccine Safe?

Nobody wants to take any medication that they don’t need and in an ideal world I wouldn’t have had the vaccine. But obviously we don’t live in an ideal world.

T

he question of whether or not the vaccine is safe has caused lots of debate in various places, both online and offline. A healthy debate is a good thing!

However, it has also resulted in some terrible scaremongering and conspiracy theories. Some of these are absolutely ludicrous. One such conspiracy theory is that “the government” or “they” will use the vaccine to implant some sort of tracking device in you to monitor your activity.

My friends, if the government or anyone else wanted to track you or spy on your activities then you are probably already carrying the perfect device for them to use in your pocket or bag. Your phone probably knows everything about you and if someone really wanted to know your business then it would probably be fairly easy to hack.

Others will argue that these vaccines have been rushed out and not properly tested. There is no doubt that these vaccines have been created in record time, but the world circumstances have necessitated that speed of development has been vital.

Everything is getting quicker these days – from athletes to computers. As technology improves, then things happen faster.

The following passage is a quote from the UK NHS website:

How safe is the COVID-19 vaccine?

The vaccines approved for use in the UK have met strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness set out by the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Any coronavirus vaccine that is approved must go through all the clinical trials and safety checks all other licensed medicines go through. The MHRA follows international standards of safety.

Other vaccines are being developed. They will only be available on the NHS once they have been thoroughly tested to make sure they are safe and effective.

So far, thousands of people have been given a COVID-19 vaccine and reports of serious side effects, such as allergic reactions, have been very rare. No long-term complications have been reported.

Who Do You Take Your Advice From?

As a digital marketer, If I have a query or problem with something related to digital marketing then I would ask someone like Kyle, or Sotiris (my WA sponsor), or Rob (my personal coach). These guys are all successful and experienced digital marketers who know this business inside out.

However, if I have a problem with my car then it would make no sense to ask any of these guys, because car mechanics is not their area of expertise – no matter how smart they are. Instead, I would go to an experienced mechanic and get the job done by someone who knows what they are doing.

It’s the same with medical advice. If you want to know if the vaccine is safe, or if it is right for you, then make sure you only take advice from someone who knows what they are talking about.

There are plenty of people sharing their opinion online and most of them have no expertise whatever in immunology, virology or medicine. I respectfully suggest you give these people (and their scare stories and conspiracy theories) a wide berth.

There is also plenty of easily accessible information online from people and organisations who DO actually know what they are talking about. You will find plenty of qualified opinions speaking in favour of the vaccine and you will also find qualified opinions who are opposed to it.

The key thing is to do your own research and make sure you make a decision for yourself based only on FACTS. Don’t rent an opinion from someone, just because you respect them for what they have done in an unrelated field. Form your own opinion and then make an informed decision for yourself.

This is what I did. I studied the facts presented by Immunologists both in favour of and against the vaccine. Having done my research, it was a “no-brainer” for me to get the vaccine at the first opportunity.

Let’s hope that this is the first step for us all towards a happier and healthier 2021.

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Recent Comments

36

Congrats Dave! I am not against vaccines in general, but these rapid vaccines normally have too many side effects from the start so I am a bit skeptic. There are divided opinions among specialists on how effective this vaccine is and if it helps if the virus changes into a mutant. I think we must take the virus seriously and the best is to keep distance and personal hygiene but it is hard for people. We are social creatures.
In Norway there have been multiple deaths caused by the vaccine. All of them were elders with underlying illness.
I do think Henry have some good points if you look at things in a bigger perspective and the stats around the world. We have many severe problems on this planet.

Hi Hilde
Unfortunately the social distancing and hygiene measures won’t last because too many people can’t be bothered any more.
I saw the reports of deaths linked to vaccine in Norway but I think that is under question now.
No vaccine is safe and there will always be side effects with any medical treatment.
As in all areas of life it’s all about balancing risks of every decision. Yes there is a risk with taking the vaccine but my opinion is that the benefits far outweigh the risks.
Every time we get in our cars and drive somewhere we take a risk of being killed in a car crash. Most of us are happy to take that risk.
We all must make a decision for ourselves and live with the consequences of that decision. I’m not saying one decision is right - just that I made my decision based on the facts I had available.

There are doctors and nurses out there that think Covid is an exaggeration and that there is no need to shut down the economy like this in the first place!
By shutting down the economy, Will make people helpless and Feel/Think that they need this Vaccine, which they Do Not.
There is Collateral Damage from these Lockdowns that noone seems to notice.

Hi Farah
I don't think anyone would argue that lockdowns have any positives - other than reducing the spread of infection.
For me it's another reason why getting people vaccinated is a good thing so we can escape this cycle of lockdowns.

By doing my own research and looking at both sides, we humans are pretty damn resilient at overcoming viruses for years and years, we have never in history had to social distance or wear masks.
Getting vaccinated is good? Some people have died from it and have had severe allergic reactions from it. Many people have allergies and cannot take vaccine.
We really should build our own immunity and let people live.

As long as you have done your own research, looked at the FACTS and reached a conclusion then that's fine.
We all need to make a decision for ourselves - and live with the consequences of that decision.

Yes sometimes its hard to differentiate between FACTS. We all like to interpret it to our own way. Consequences are just a part of life.
We shouldn't collapse economies for that.

Hi all , i am more than likely going to cause a bit of a stir with my comments regarding this pandemic and were it not for the `no-brainer` comment at the end of the story written by Dave07 , this is not in any way some type of conspiracy theory or any fantasy i have dream`t up , it is based on fact that is readily available for everyone and plenty of common sense and logic .

Firstly let`s concentrate on the figures that has constantly been pumped on the news for more than a year now , the common one is the deaths and the cases that has been shoved in front of everyone all day plus the constant social distancing , the washing of the hands , wearing of masks and so on , everything that has any type of joy or pleasure attached has basically been banned .

Now it is just over a year already and yes we have 93 million cases to date and total deaths has been 2 million worldwide , everyone can get access to these figures on the site Worldometer.com , the site has a separate one designated to coronavirus .

So one thing is for sure this virus seems to be capable of spreading at a spectacular fashion even with the whole planet having gone through hard lockdowns and still all the protocols are being pushed ..... but still the numbers keep rolling however this is where i want to intervene ....... of the 94 million cases worldwide 67 million have recovered and let me remind everyone how these people recovered ..... they recovered with their own immune system which should be a constant reminder to all .... a healthy immune system is superior , the remarks about the vaccine`s purpose of training our immune system to cope with the disease is ridiculous ...... our immune system does not need training that is as obvious as the sky is blue , the vast majority of deaths have been from the age group`s of 45 years and upwards which comprises 95% ....... in fact 65 to 74 years is roughly 25% with 75 years and upwards at 50%...... THUS IT IS VERY CLEAR THAT 75% OF THE DEATHS HAVE OCCURRED FROM 65 YEARS UPWARDS , this percentage of deaths of people with a existing underlying condition such as diabetes , cancer and cardiovascular disease is massive and those that have died with no underlying conditions is minute .


Currently there are 24 million active cases and how no one takes note of the fact that there are just 111 thousand serious cases worldwide , this is astounding and why i say so is that this constant fear has no grounds at all, putting this fact alongside the life expectancy of a human being on this planet set at 72 years is around the same level of where most of covid deaths are is it not , furthermore let`s take a look at the top twenty nations worldwide in terms of deaths comprise 1.6 million deaths out of 2 million , thus the remaining 200 nations have a combined total of 400 thousand for just over a year and further still it is clearly visible to see the Northern Hemisphere being the predominant hemisphere .

In my understanding of these very clear statistics i find it very difficult to understand the purpose of vaccine for the general population of people below the age of 45 years old as the figures do show that these people recover with no treatment and no vaccine , if anything all above the age of 45 should be the first considered because that is where the bulk of deaths occur , it can be argued that the elderly folk are in a serious condition as it is so getting vaccine in a sense would just complicate things further .

This continuous strain on the population of the planet for coronavirus should raise some serious concerns just taking into account all the figures i have just shown ...... take a minute to think about the countless lives of people that have had their lives turned inside out , many have worked their whole lives just to achieve what they have and it is now fast becoming a distant dream , so lets expand our view a bit , this year is just over 2 weeks old and the total deaths worldwide is 2.3 million ..... as i am writing this today has just passed 75 thousand deaths , even so the net population growth is 3.2 million , people who have died from hunger has just passed 14 thousand today [ take note this starvation is a daily figure that reaches well over 20 thousand every day ] , this year over 30 thousand people have died from water related diseases , over 320 thousand people have died from cancer this year , 100 000 have died caused by alcohol , 67 000 have died from HIV/AIDS , 16 thousand by malaria and so it goes on .

All or should i say most of these deaths this year outside of coronavirus far surpasses the corona deaths and this fact has been ongoing for decades , in fact for as long as written history can be observed one will be horrified to view the billions of lives lost by means of war which is the leading cause of deaths so much so that this amount can never be caught up ....... in fact this planet is always in a constant state of war ....... just for good measure do yourself a favor and do some research on this as it is astounding and in many of the cases these wars were started off by one persons agenda , as per the idea of the website i am working towards which is for the equality of woman and the protection of woman and children the world over it is important to note that basically all the wars have been run by the male population and the female and child populations have suffered the most throughout .

Back to the vaccine situation , at present there are 28 diseases in the world that have vaccine , these diseases i will be going through in depth on the website too but for now lets keep this in mind , the timeline for vaccine goes back to the late 1700`s in fact 1796 is the year of the first vaccine which was for smallpox , it took almost a hundred years for the 2nd vaccine in 1880 and until 1897 a total of 6 vaccines were made with Typhoid claiming 2 , from 1921 to 1998 there were 27 vaccines made and from 2003 to 2020 a further 9 were made which gives a total of 43 vaccines for a period of 220 years , way back in 1921 the vaccine for TB was introduced and 100 years later one quarter of the world`s population is though to have latent infection with TB , it is also astounding to note how the so-called eradication of just two diseases ....one is smallpox and the other a cow disease known as rinderpest , furthermore the first influenza vaccine was introduced way back in 1937 and still the world over has the influenza year in and year out , as per the smallpox vaccine even though it has been proclaimed that the disease has been eradicated there are two nations that have stock of the said vaccine in safeguarding .

A summary of the above points to the fact that we as a human race have been perfecting one thing only and that is the art of killing/exterminating ......we started out with sticks and stones and have progressed to the hydrogen bomb and am ashamed of the continuous atrocities that has been ongoing forever .

I will finish off for now with a couple of facts that should further shake the consciousness of all , i am assuming that many will know what a NPO and a NGO is , a NPO is a non profit organization and a NGO is a non governmental organization , the wealthiest in the world right now is as follows , in 6th place is the Howard Hughes Medical Institute formed 68 years ago and is a Biological and Medical research and Science Education institute with an endowment of $22.6 billion , 4th place from the UK is the Wellcome Trust with an endowment of 32 billion Pounds and was formed 85 years ago aimed at research of human and animal health , 3rd place Stichting INGKA Foundation and endowment of $36 billion but is non medical , 2nd place goes to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation formed 21 years ago aimed at healthcare , education and poverty with an endowment of $46.8 billion and the no.1 Novo Nordisk Foundation formed 31 years ago focusing on medical treatment and research with a endowment of $49.1 billion , the thinking of all the billions of dollars spent and the decades upon decades of these establishments being in existance with the net result being what it is proves one thing ....something is just not right of that there can be no argument

Hi Henry
Thanks for sharing your detailed reply.
As I said in my original article - I encourage people to study the FACTS for themselves and form their own opinion.
If you have studied them yourself and come to a conclusion then good for you.
I have studied them (and considered everything you discuss above) and concluded that getting the vaccine is a no-brainer.

It is for each of us to decide - and live with the consequences.

Regards
Dave

Hi Dave , i was hoping that my initial response would shed some light on certain aspects that never really get shown , i agree that everyone should study the FACTS as you say and that we should all make a decision for ourselves , the thing is not everyone in the world is as privileged in terms of studying the FACTS and secondly decision making for ourselves is not happening .

I was hoping that the figures would make an impact so let me take it further ....... the USA is generally regarded as the most powerful nation in the world and most advanced ...... so the most advanced nation and most powerful has been infected the most ............ the USA has 405 thousand deaths ...... do you realize that the whole continent of Asia and Africa combined totals 433 thousand deaths , if that does not mean anything to you then i rest my case ..... surely two continents especially considering the fact that they are Asia and Africa have just 28 thousand more deaths , now the two largest continents in the world have a total of 433 thousand deaths in a pandemic that has now gone past a year , a whole year it has taken and not yet a half a million in the two largest continents on the planet combined yet in just over two weeks of the new year 368 thousand deaths from cancer , 582 thousand deaths from communicable disease , passes or comes close as per the cancer total to what covid-19 has managed in over a year in the USA and we do now know that the USA has the most deaths by far ......... in just over 2 weeks this planet has recorded over 2.6 million deaths and to continuously put covid-19 on the throne is very plain to see and understand that it clearly is not .

There is a problem on this planet and that has to be seen to and sooner than later if these problems continue to be overlooked in favor of covid-19 then we will find ourselves in real trouble collectively ....... i mentioned in my previous reply the incredible amounts of money that is spent in the medical industry , some of these organizations have been around for decades upon decades and this is the state of living we have advanced to shows clearly that despite all the trillions of trillions of dollars and the decades and decades of research it has not improved much in fact it has gotten worse .

As of Thursday it is reported that in Norway there has been 23 vaccine related deaths , two COVID-19 vaccines, Comirnaty, from BioNTec/Pfizer, and Moderna, are used in Norway .

This news is not surprising and i will go into detail why , the early 1990`s saw the interest of RNA vaccines for the first time , the in vitro ( meaning outside a living organism , in Latin means `within the glass` ) demonstration of mRNA in animals was first reported in 1990 , the founder of Moderna the mRNA -focused biotech company formed this company in 2010 and likewise BioNtech too , now what is surprising is that in the past 10 years these biotech companies had POOR results testing mRNA drugs for cardiovascular , metabolic and renal diseases , selected targets for cancer and rare diseases like Crigler-Najjar syndrome with most finding the side effects being too serious , nonetheless mRNA vaccines for human use have been tested and developed for diseases rabies , Zika and Influenza among others , important to note none were licensed , many pharmaceutical companies abandoned the technology , while some biotechs re-focused on the less profitable area of vaccine , before covid-19 no mRNA drug or vaccine had ever been licensed for use in humans , on the 2nd of December 2020 the UK`s MHRA became the first global medicines regulator in history to approve an mRNA vaccine , what is known that the trials did not have enough if any people over the age of 65 in the trials , i specifically mentioned that the age group of 65 years old and upwards consisted of 75% of deaths in my previous comment and suggested that vaccine for humans under this age group did not warrant it as just about everyone in that age group recovered via their own immune system and also stated that in the older age group vaccine would only make life more difficult as these folk have in a large part an already suppressed immune system ....... because a vaccine in principal gets a individual injected with the virus ...... the mRNA is a type of vaccine that uses a copy of a natural chemical called messenger RNA (mRNA) to produce an immune response. The vaccine transfects molecules of synthetic RNA into immunity cells .Once inside the immune cells, the vaccine's RNA functions as mRNA, causing the cells to build the foreign protein that would normally be produced by a pathogen (such as a virus) or by a cancer cell..These protein molecules stimulate an adaptive immune response which teaches the body how to identify and destroy the corresponding pathogen or cancer cells ,

Now if you look at the process of how the vaccine works and you think about it real carefully it does exactly what the actual virus does .....it actually says that once inside the immune cells the vaccine RNA functions as mRNA , CAUSING THE CELLS TO BUILD THE FOREIGN PROTEIN THAT WOULD NORMALLY BE PRODUCED BY A PATHOGEN . ...... now as is noted 75% of the population under 65 years recovered via their immune system ..... and their immune system DID NOT need to be taught to do anything ....... and just thinking clearly there is no doubt that the idea of giving a healthy individual a vaccine for a disease that they have not got is crazy simply because even with the vaccines before this mRNA people have been getting vaccines for Influenza that had what they call a weakened version of the actual virus ..... to be more precise those vaccine were `teaching ` the immune system to get to know the weakened form of the virus so what that does to the proper version is what exactly , and just as this new mRNA which is a synthetic version is not the real version either so the `lessons ` given is for what ? ...... and i repeat our immune system is a miracle which can not be undermined because not only does the figures show this the mere fact that we are still on this planet is enough considering the catastrophic diseases that have plagued the human race for example `the Black Death ` also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality, or the Plague) which is on record as being the deadliest in times where we were not as advanced as what we are now being from the 1300`s and estimated to have taken in excess of 75 million lives .

So once again i hope that the realization of the real problems we have on this planet should be placed above this pandemic be attained because these problems continue to be overlooked even more so now than ever .

As per the site i am going to publish sooner than later the main theme is for gender equality and the protection from abuse in regards to woman and children .

There is a particular subject i am on in this moment in time which is known as gendercide and marginalization , in the gendercide instance the systematic selection of and violence against girls that has led to a large deficit of women in several countries., in 2010 the number of missing females was reported to be in the region of 125 million and a decade later is now at 180 million , this is a real concern and am doing as much research as i possibly can to get the whole picture , it came about due to the initial task i am on for getting the site started which revolves poverty and population control which i want to add can be done humanely starting on contraception for example ....

Have a pleasant day .......

Peace and Love Henry

I had mine done last week as I was doing some front line volunteering and it was a requirement to have it.

I feel safer now I have had it.

Interesting you are a Pharmacist, as my wife was a Locum Act before being head hunted into NHS Primary care 3 months ago and loves it

Hi Dave
Glad to hear you have had your vaccine - although don't forget it takes a few weeks to build up immunity.
Glad your wife is enjoying the role in primary care. I know a lot of people have enjoyed moving into those roles.

We have 3 weeks to build it up, til then, I and we are rigidly enforcing lockdown and staying in.

I found this very useful. I signed up about 3 weeks ago on the New Mexico, USA, online list for the vaccine. Since I'm 78, I knew it wouldn't take forever, and indeed today I got a message on my cellphone to be patient and they will get to me.

Hi Rosanna
I'm glad to hear you found my experience useful. Hopefully you will get your vaccine soon and it leads to a return to something like normality for you soon.

Thanks
DAve

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