I was not really looking forward to my second COVID vaccine jab as the first time I had a nightmare effects with it. Don’t get me wrong though. I am very thankful that I was given the opportunity to have the vaccine ahead of the others. It’s just that the side effects I had the first time were bad and not something I look forward to experiencing again on my second one.
My employer (Bispham Gardens – Glenholme Wrightcare Limited – CARE), spearheaded by my manager Fiona Nicholls and her Admin team booked my second dose of Astra Zeneca COVID jab last March 20th, exactly 2 months after I had the first jab. When I learnt about it, I thought here we go again. It was also the time when concerns over Astra Zeneca vaccine blood clots side effect were raised worldwide. I have to be honest, I had my doubts and fears. To aggravate it all, I googled the symptoms and everything else connected to AZ blood clots! I shouldn’t have done it really because what it did was just punished me because of unguarded thoughts it created.
On the day of my second jab, my husband was ever supportive as he took the time off work to accompany me to the vaccine centre. I really commend how good was the process at the vaccine centre. It was all efficient and quick it took me less than 20 minutes to be in and out of the place. It could have been a lot quicker if the place was small but it was a huge place so most of the 20 minutes I was there was used to navigate the place. LOL!
The nurse who gave me the jab was quite pleasant making small talks as he got his paraphernalia ready. That actually put my mind at ease for a bit. As he extracted the needle from my upper arm, I felt a warmth trickling down from where the needle was. I thought it was kinda strange so I looked and for the life of me I was bleeding. The nurse asked me right away if I usually bleed when given an injection. I told him it was the first time for me. He was calm and reassuring and quickly put a gauze over to to stop the bleeding. It took 2 pieces of gauze to kind of like stop the bleeding. My head was working overtime by then as I was fearing the worse like could it be one of the worse side effects of the jab or something like a link to the feared blood clots caused by AZ vaccine. Fear! Fear! Fear!
Anyway, I went out of the building and there was my husband patiently waiting for me outside. I told him I bled after the inoculation and asked if it was normal to bleed. He told me that probably a capillary has been hit by the needle and it sometimes happens just as my case. He told me it’s gonna bruise big time but it would heal over time and not to worry about it.
I was actually anticipating the side effects to kick in at least 4 hours after the jab. But I waited for like over six hours after it but nothing so I thought maybe it would come a bit later. My husband kept on asking me how was I feeling and I kept on taking my temperature! How sad was that? Hahahaha Anyway, when it was almost bedtime, I felt like I was about to have a fever so I took my temperature again and it was slightly high but nothing to really worry about. I took paracetamol and went to bed expecting for the worse at midnight. I woke up the next morning with nothing but a sore and bruised arm and that was it! I couldn’t believe my luck.
All of the overthinking I had was for naught! I could actually slap the back of my head for being such a worry wart. Hahaha The sore and the bruise lasted for like a week then they just waned. I am just glad now that I am fully vaccinated.
I did my part and I hope that you’re going to do the same, too.
Freddy xoxoxo
Freddy's Musings 
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