Howdy there! Welcome to another corner of the internet where my musings live. I have yet to decide what exactly to fill this corner with but until then, it’ll be a mish mash of my other projects.
Covid-19 Vaccination
I was asked by a colleague to write about my experience in receiving the Covid-19 vaccine so that they could share the photos and sentiments with their community and hopefully alleviate some of the worries people may have. This is of course, just my own experience and opinions so your mileage may vary.
A bit of background…
As an anaesthetist, I was fortunate enough to be classified as a Class 1a worker at my workplace and hence was able to promptly receive the vaccine. As an otherwise well 30-something year old male, I had very few worries about receiving the vaccine. I’ve had the yearly flu vaccination as well as all the other required ones with minimal side-effects bar a sore arm.
My main worry was whether I’d get a bit of the cold-like/febrile response and then need to isolate/get the Covid swab done since it’d be disruptive to the department where I work.
About the vaccine
We’re truly lucky to live in a time where we had some background research in developing faster vaccines than the traditional techniques used in years past. In Australia, both the Pfizer and the Astra Zeneca vaccines are currently available. I received the Pfizer one and wasn’t given a choice- it was literally all they had that day.
I don’t claim to be a vaccine expert but here’s my super simplified, possibly not technically correct version of how these vaccines work compared to the previous style of vaccines…
In the past, drug companies had to take an existing virus and inactivate it or weaken it before it could be packaged up and distributed. This process of rendering a virus safe enough is time consuming, expensive and required many technical hurdles.
With the advances in genomics, mRNA vaccines (the new kind), it is now possible to isolate the part of the viral mRNA responsible for making the unique surface protein, package the instruction set (mRNA) and let the body make just that specific protein and prime the immune system. This way, there is no inactivated or weakened virus at all: just the fragment of the mRNA code that allows the body to build the surface protein. Harvard medical school has a more detailed explanation on all this.
My experience (with pictures)
I was scheduled to receive the vaccine on the 6th of March 2021 at 1545. I had heard that the logistics meant that lines were long and delays of 1 hour was happening in the morning so I arrived 45 mins early.
I was greeted by no line what so ever and couldn’t even find the entrance as a result! No delays here!
After being checked in, I was given the usual forms to fill out in the waiting area. The staff were very professional and double checked the forms before calling each person in for their vaccination. Every time someone left a chair, there was a staff member cleaning the seat with disinfectant. All the chairs were socially distanced of course!
Usual paperwork 
Waiting patiently 
Staff members maintaining cleanliness
After about 10mins of filling in the paperwork and waiting, it was my turn. I have to say, I was actually excited. I’d promised myself no flights/travel where I was in close confines until I was vaccinated. Finally, I could take the first steps to travel again as per my promise!
On the way to my cubicle
The cubicle itself was sparse with a trolley for the vaccine and PPE etc and chair for the patient (me in this case! Weird being on the other side!). The nurse checked my details once again before checking the vaccine syringe that had been prefilled by the hospital pharmacy.
The equipment trolley 
Checking the vaccine 
The nurse administering my vaccine
Normally, I can feel the vaccine needle but this was the first time where I didn’t actually feel anything. Your mileage may vary here!
Afterwards, I received a “what to expect” information sheet, a card detailing what vaccine and batch I’d received and was instructed to wait in the supervised post-vaccine waiting area to see if I developed any immediate side effects. Considering my lack of reactions to the previous vaccine, I was deemed low risk and hence had to wait there only 15mins.
When my time was up, I went up to the front desk where the checked and made sure I’d served my time and I was free to go! With a chocolate to boot!
Overall, it was a very efficient experience. I arrived just past 3pm and was out by 3:30pm. My original appointment time was 3:45pm!
And afterwards
The next morning, I woke up to a sore upper arm. It was about a 3/10 ache when I used that arm. Since I’m right handed, I had the vaccine in the left arm so didn’t notice it most of the day.
About 24 hours after the vaccine (ie after lunch the next day), I noticed that I was feeling run down. That feeling like you’re about to fall sick, but had no actual symptoms per se. To be sure, I checked my temperature since I was on call at work and it was normal. By the next morning, I was back to normal and the sore arm had disappeared.
As I type this, it’s been nearly a week and I have not had any other symptoms what so ever!
Anyway, I hope that gives you an idea what the process is like and alleviated some of the anxiety.