It was exactly last year in the month of March when the whole world was jeopardized by this new deadly virus named Coronavirus (Covid-19). Until today the whole world has been weeping at the number of deaths it has caused. This pandemic has left no stone unturned to shake the global health and economy. In terms of the economy, the virus has caused major changes in everyone’s lives, some more than others. The tragedies seem never-ending.
Throughout the last year, we have seen it grow and the only measures in our hands to break the chain were staying indoors, maintaining social distancing and frequent use of hand sanitiser and wearing masks. The need of the moment became a vaccine that could bring a stop to this pandemic and make our lives the same as it was before. Then with the beginning of the year, 2021 came a ray of hope when we saw in the news Covid-19 vaccinations are going to start soon in India.
In India, the vaccinations started phase wise with the doctors and other frontline health workers getting vaccinated first. My brother-in-law who is an eye surgeon by profession was the first in my family to get vaccinated. He was given both Covishield doses and that brought us a smile. After that many of my friends who are doctors received the vaccine and informed me how they are keeping in good health and faced no side effects.
Currently, phase two is going on in India under which senior citizens are getting vaccinated. I knew that my chance would come later as there is a long waiting list before getting the vaccination. I was quite enthusiastic to get vaccinated. I knew sooner or later I need this for the greater good. Our individual effort can contribute to herd immunity which is the need of the hour. So I am writing this post to let you know what happened after I took the Covid-19 vaccine.
How did I get the vaccination so early?
I know many of you are thinking it right now. The answer is that I received it early since I am going for Election Duty during the upcoming 2021 Assam Legislative Assembly Polls. Last week I was surprised when I got this appointment letter at work as I am being roped in for the upcoming 2021 Assam Legislative Assembly Polls, Election Duty. The Election Commission of India has made it mandatory for everyone assigned for Election duty to take the Covid-19 vaccination.
I received such a good opportunity that I got excited about. It was also the first time I will take part in Election duty. On the first day of our training, we received a leaflet from the members of the health department. On it was mentioned the hospitals and health centres under the Government of Assam allotted for us where we can visit and get the vaccine on showing our appointment letter and a valid ID.
On 8th March 2021, I visited one of my nearest healthcentres at Guwahati and received the Covishield vaccine. My husband accompanied me in case I fell sick. I was quite confident and knew I needed to do this.
After the vaccination was administered on my left arm very nicely by the nurse I was asked to wait for observation for half an hour in case I felt dizzy. I was all well and they informed me that I could leave for home.
After that, I left the hospital and returned home. My brother-in-law who had already been administered both the doses told me about the possible side-effects and to take enough rest after the vaccination.
Did I show any symptoms of the Covid-19 vaccination?
I came home and took plenty of rest and was all okay throughout the evening. It was at around 10 pm, I had my dinner when suddenly I started feeling slightly dizzy. I asked my husband to help me clean the kitchen as I wasn’t feeling so well. Within a few minutes, I started feeling feverish and after some time I had a high temperature. I immediately lay down and took a paracetamol tablet.
I felt really scared but I knew side effects and symptoms are common after any vaccination. Some show it and some don’t. Many of my friends have had blocked noses, sore throats and aching arms. However, they’ve all made a full recovery.
or a similar site for a nasal spray that could unblock their nose. I drank plenty of normal water and also my husband made the salt-sugar water concoction that I’ve heard can help which gave me much strength. I also had a severe headache and body ache and also nausea. I tried to hold my patience to a great extent. Thanks to my husband for being so supportive and being with me continuously.
How fast did I recover?
Recovery from the previous night was indeed fast enough. The next morning I woke up and the temperature had gone down and there was a slight pain in my left arm which is very common in vaccination.
But there was a lot of weakness, fatigue and I was still feeling dehydrated. So I drank litres of glucose water. I also took another paracetamol tablet after breakfast. If you’re going to take tablets whilst suffering an underlying condition or if you’re pregnant/on medication, please ask your physician first. I consulted my brother-in-law who is a certified doctor.
The last thing I want to happen is to get bed-ridden for getting vaccinated. Thanks to my husband who was there who took great care of me serving me whatever I needed at every hour.
I was a little bit panicky after I had a fever. This is nothing new to me as I get a bit paranoid even if I have the slightest discomfort in my body. And this was a Covid-19 vaccination, a new thing we are coming across. The thing that I realised on the second day was the panic was useless, I shouldn’t have done that. So do not panic.
On the second day, which is today as I am writing this post, both fever and body ache is completely gone and I am recovering. I am feeling quite well as I sit down to write this post.
Why am I writing this post?
The reason I am writing this post is that after I got vaccinated I posted a picture on both my Facebook and Instagram accounts and I was flooded with a series of questions. I know it’s quite genuine as we all are curious and we have so many doubts and questions in our mind about what happens after the Covid-19 vaccination.
Before I took the vaccination I can’t say the zillion number of times I disturbed my brother-in-law and also my colleague who too got vaccinated since appointed for Election duty with me. I think this post is going to be an answer to their questions.
Well, I don’t think there is any need to get scared of the vaccination. The sooner the better as we all will need it. In case you have any doubt in your mind I think you should not hesitate to consult your doctor.
Whatever symptoms I experienced, I had read about it all on various health-related websites and blogs. There was nothing new I went through that I hadn’t read about. All I can say that I was mentally prepared for these symptoms.
Some people like one of my colleagues didn’t show any symptoms, she didn’t have any fever or body ache. My brother-in-law too did not show any symptoms after the first dose but after the second Covid-19 dose he had a slight fever. I think this varies from person to person. There is nothing to be afraid of as I feel.
You may also read some of these posts that I wrote while we were in quarantine last year-
20 Ways for Self Care and Motivation during the quarantine period
How We Can Celebrate Durga Puja maintaining Covid-19 Safety protocols
30 Feel-Good movies worth re-watching this Quarantine
This post is my personal experience about what happened after I took the Covid-19 vaccine. I am not writing this post for sharing any information about the vaccines or anything related to their working.
There are so many official websites like THIS or the WHO CLICK HERE from where you can get all the necessary information regarding the Covid-19 vaccine. If you are looking for help after the vaccine this is not the right place. I am also not creating any kind of awareness here.
I am repeating this is just my personal experience. Neither I am a doctor nor any kind of health worker, I am just a normal citizen who had recently received the Covid-19 vaccination.
Hope you liked reading the post. Feel free to post any comments. Thanks a lot.
2 Comments
I appreciate and thank you for writing this post. It’s really helpful, as many of us are going through this anxiety of whether to get vaccinated or not. To be honest, even I’m not interested in getting vaccinated so soon. But let’s hope all of us get vaccinated and this disease ends forever.
Thanks a lot and take the vaccination without any fear.