My First COVID19 Vaccine: What to Expect
/My First COVID-19 Vaccine: What to Expect
Last week I had the opportunity to do something surreal. I received my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Here’s a step-by-step look at my experience and what to expect.
With my mask on, I walked through parking lot M of the Meadowlands Complex where there was a good number of cars. An officer from the National Guard greeted me at the gate (note: don’t forget to thank all the National Guards for their service!) at the entrance to the ramp leading to the Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment Complex which has been converted into the Bergen Country Vaccination Mega Site. He directed me up the ramp and assured me that officers from the National Guard would be inside to help guide each step of the way.
I had a copy of my eligibility confirmation for tier 1A and my appointment confirmation ready in hand as I walked through the Vaccination Entrance door. Make sure to bring yours with you to make things go smoothly!
It was 12 pm. There was no line. (Amazing!)
Inside at the first counter, I was greeted by 3 officers, one of which verified my confirmation forms and asked to see my driver’s license. I was given a credit card-sized plastic white card with a QR square and told to stay to the left and walk down the length of the corridor marked “Registered”. There was another line for “Unregistered”. When I inquired for more information, I was told that this allowed people to register on-site if they did not do so already. In NJ, you can pre-register for the COVID19 vaccine here: https://covidvaccine.nj.gov/
I walked down the long corridor until I reached another National Guard officer who directed me to an area with about a dozen tables in 2 rows with Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) representatives helping individuals. I waited about a minute for the next available table and was asked by the associate for my confirmation forms, driver’s license, and insurance information. The associate was very friendly and offered a complementary HMH mask and hand sanitizer. (definitely grabbed a mask.)
I was given a small index-sized card, COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card, to fill out my first and last name and date of birth. I was instructed to keep this card safe as it would be the records of my vaccinations and the vaccine details. (In 2021, it is very disappointing that I can’t have this easily digitally stored. This is not the vaccination site’s fault but a bigger problem in healthcare called lack of interoperability. Today is not the day for that conversation.)
Next, I was asked to fill out a form with COVID19 Vaccine Discussion Questions. As someone with a history of anaphylaxis that needed emergency treatment in the hospital, I marked “YES” for question 2 “Have you ever had an anaphylactic or severe reaction to any vaccine or injectable medication?”.
I was given handouts on:
1. the Pfizer vaccine (which was the brand that this site was administering; the Moderna vaccine was not available here today.)
2. post-vaccination facts, with details such as common symptoms to expect
3. v-safe, the after vaccine health checker. This is an easy-to-use smartphone app that helps track vaccine safety.
The representative scheduled my 2nd vaccination appointment and wrote it on the COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card and I was told to walk down to the next checkpoint.
Sure enough, a short walk later, another National Guard officer greeted me, scanned my QR card, and directed me to the next stop.
This took all of 5 minutes from the moment I walked through the front door.
At the next checkpoint, I could see the vaccination area and felt my stomach sink. As a well-documented vasovagal (AKA fainter), I prayed to all that was holy that I didn’t faint and then have an anaphylactic reaction.
When it was my turn, I was asked to sit at the next open seat at one of the tables. One of the volunteers reviewed my paperwork and we discussed my history of anaphylaxis and fainting. A nurse was called over, we discussed the protocol. She instructed me that the injection had to be administered while sitting as there were no beds to accommodate lying down (as is often the alternative when faced with a fainter…like me.) The nurse went to get an epi-pen. The nurse was wonderful and kept me in conversation and to focus on my breathing. I closed my eyes while I received the injection in my left upper arm (no, I don’t watch).
The woman administering the injection was fantastic. There wasn’t even a pinch. Completely painless. I was asked to sit for a few minutes to see how I was feeling. I felt fine.
I received a sticker that said “I made COVID-19 History” with the time 12:25 pm.
My COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card was filled out with the lot number for my Pfizer vaccine, today’s date, and the name of the volunteer that administered my shot. I was reminded to not lose the card. I took a picture of it with my phone just in case.
The nurse walked me over to the next checkpoint for the observation area where she let the National Guard officer know that I needed to be monitored for 30 minutes due to my history of anaphylaxis. All others are monitored for 15 minutes. All the chairs were well spaced apart and there were only a handful of people there waiting. I was given a seat in the corner of the first row of the observation area where two National Guard officers were stationed. They checked in with me to ensure I was feeling ok every few minutes. There was also a volunteer that was walking around to briefly see how everyone was doing and feeling after their shot. He shared in conversation what his experience was with his first dose (which was very positive).
While I waited, I scanned the v-safe QR code and registered myself in about 2 minutes.
There was no pain or discomfort at the injection site. The band-aid was the only indicator anything had taken place.
After a half hour, I walked towards the exit checkpoint where I thanked the officer for their service and my plastic card was collected.
There was a banner for a photo-op and you know how the saying goes, if you didn’t take a photo, did it even happen?
Immediately after the shot, I drove home minutes just in time to be only a few minutes late for my next Zoom meeting at 1:30 pm.
The only immediate side effect to report was hunger because I missed lunch.
After about 6 hours after my vaccination and I had a tiny bit of soreness (scale of 1-10, the soreness was a 1.) The next day the soreness was more noticeable at about a pain of 4. But I still managed to go through my day with no restrictions. I reported my mild soreness and updates daily via the v-safe app and still do.
Next dose: Feb 9th.
Thank you to everyone at Hackensack Meridian Health for a seamless COVID-19 vaccination experience. All of your hard work shone through.
Thank you to the wonderful nurse, I believe Michelle, who carefully reviewed everything regarding my history of anaphylaxis and fainting, stayed with me through the injection and ensured I got over to the observation area without any issues.
Thank you to all of the NJ National Guard officers who are working to ensure all goes smoothly and we move the needle on getting NJ to herd immunity as soon as possible. Thank you for your service!
#ThisIsOurShot #VaccinesWork #PatientAdvocacy