I had April 7, 2021 marked down in my calendar: it carried so much promise to allow me once again to enjoy the freedoms of traveling around the world and going to places outside my little 750 square foot apartment, so much hope for a new life post-pandemic, so much intrigue in finding out what all this fuss about Covid vaccines was all about, and so much FOMO, fear of missing out on all the fun that everyone already had posting their vaccine photos. I wanted in on the action, and finally it was my turn.
Much like many anticipated days in my life, though, this one........didn't meet expectations. In fact, I was proven to be blindly naive about the side effects of the Covid-19 vaccine, which I'd only heard passing remarks about from my parents and friends. It's a component of vaccines that has been suppressed by mainstream media, likely to encourage people to get the vaccine and not back away from it. I got the JNJ vaccine, which is a one-and-done shot which sounded great to me because I didn't need to go again, and only one quick jab into my arm, and presto! I'm vaccinated. And for a blissful hour, it worked out beautifully: I scheduled my shot, went to the facility where it was being administered, sat down with a local volunteer nurse who would give me my shot, Nope no allergies to needles, Yes I consent to getting the vaccine (they were required to notify me I had alternatives to taking the vaccine, which was to NOT take the vaccine.....Thanks!), and pretty soon the needle went in. Still a bit of an unexpected pain, but nothing I wasn't use to from blood donations, and pretty soon the nurse had put the Daffy Duck band-aid on my left arm and I was ready to go! I went back home and got back to working from my remote work computer again like nothing had happened. Happy times ahead!
Oh but something had indeed happened. See, the JNJ vaccine injected an adenovirus into my body with a single coronavirus gene with instructions for making the Covid vaccine so that my body could create the antibodies needed to fight the vaccine. And yes my body reacted. I was still fine after work and went for my evening run without a problem, but towards the tail end I was already feeling some weakening effects and often stopped to pause for breaks. After dinner, I started feeling a little hot, flushed in the face, and my head started burning. And I wanted to curl up into a ball under the blankets in bed, something that MJ does pretty frequently but now I understand why........my body felt very weak, and I had to convince every muscle in my body just to move around. It wasn't much different than having a cold, without any nose stuffiness or dripping, just weakness. At one point I remember asking myself, "was it worth it to get the vaccine? Should I have just risked not getting it and waiting it out? It's almost as if I gave myself Covid to fight Covid!" Except the vaccine doesn't actually give us Covid, what I felt was just the side effects of the vaccine. The side effects were exactly as advertised: arm soreness, body aches, fatigue, and a low-grade fever, yet I felt a little overwhelmed by the onset of it so quickly. Apparently I wasn't alone: Just in the Raleigh area, the PNC Arena stopped giving out JNJ vaccine shots today after four people were hospitalized from the side effects, and three of those developed those effects within 15 minutes of getting the shot! Pretty horrifying for those people, as immediate buyer's remorse must have set in. I guess ultimately, I should be pretty happy: I took a few naps during the day, Nurse MJ prescribed me some Tylenol, and as of this writing I feel pretty much back to normal. A 30-hour or so bout of epic proportions that will hopefully last me a while (even 6 months would be good!) Future vaccine shots will likely produce similar side effects, but maybe my body will get used to it? I remember the first time I got the flu shot I had similar side effects.
This reminds me to remember to read the side effects of any drug I take. Side effects are no joke!
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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