First a small caveat to the following article…
After a relatively painless first dose experience with the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, I was eager to finish the vaccination schedule. I received my second dose exactly 22 days after the first one. I wanted to wait a bit before writing this article to see if there were any side-effects, but along the way, it’s been delayed by… 2 months. Not because there were any side-effects. More because life moves fast!
And now on with the show…
My workplace allowed booking for subsequent doses 1 week from the outset of the appointment time. I booked as soon as the slot was available for day 22 since it was going to be quite a busy period at work and it was about the only time I could make it work, given that a few people had some side effects from the second dose…
On the day
Unlike last time where I was actually walking around trying to find the entrance, this time there was a clearly marked entrance to the vaccination clinic.
Last time I thought the process was very fast. If that’s the case then this time, it was like lightning! Unlike last time, there was no form to fill in. A quick check at the desk to verify previous dose, check if there were any side effects and see if the appropriate amount of time had lapsed for the second dose. After that, it was straight to the waiting area
Check in desk 
The waiting area
The vaccination was moving so efficiently that there was hardly anyone sitting down. The staff were very quick to wipe down any of the seats that were just used by those waiting. After literally a less than 3 minute wait, it was my turn already!
It was time for one last check and it was time for my second and last dose! The whole process was so quick that I was in the post-dose waiting area about 5 minutes after I entered.
The wait is a mandatory 30 minutes to make sure there are no immediate side effects. If you had any after the first dose, this is increased by 15 mins to make sure nothing bad happens this time. I used the time to scroll through social media. 😂
And afterwards/side-effects
Immediately after the dose, I felt absolutely fine. Around 8rs later, I had some non specific muscle pains/arm pain that I took some paracetamol for before going to bed.
The next morning, I woke a bit more tired than normal and had general aches that again, I took paracetamol for. I was feeling about 90% of normal so I ended up going to work as per normal.
About 11am (so about 22hrs after the dose) I started to feel REALLY tired. Every hour, I did a mental check in with myself and progressively felt more lethargic than before. I was meant to be on call the night and given how quickly I was starting to feel run down, I ended up asking for that call to be covered just in case.
I was working in another hospital in the afternoon and people commented that I looked a bit paler (how this is possible with my very tanned skin, I don’t know!) and tired than normal. I went to bed as soon as I got home because I was EXHAUSTED.
The next morning, I woke up after nearly 12 hrs straight of sleep. I had to do an online tutorial which went relatively well considering I felt like I was in a bit of a daze. Straight after the 3 hr tutorial, I fell back asleep for ANOTHER 5 or so hours.
When I woke up in the evening, I felt SOO much better! Going for a walk didn’t seem like a chore like it did the previous day. I managed to even be enthusiastic enough to capture this moon shot.
That night, even after my daytime nap, I slept another 10 hrs. The next morning, about 36 hrs after the shot, I was back to 100% of normal.
Other people in my department had similar instances of tiredness. Some had more myalgias. Few reported fevers for about a day but that was quite rare. While I have been pretty tired after on calls and long days, this was a kind of bone-weary tiredness that I’ve only felt a few times in my life. I assume it’s akin to what chronic fatigue may feel like. Like almost all other people with side effects, mine resolved at less than the 48 hr mark.
Overall, I think the process for getting the vaccination has improved drastically in the 3 weeks since my first dose. The side effects were on the milder side for me, but that tiredness was something outside the ordinary. Given what I experienced and what I have heard, I’d definitely have the vaccine again, but maybe not immediately before an overnight on call shift. Lesson learnt! 😁