Giantaxe

I can understand how unsettling that must be, but you live in a country that hasn't authorized the Astra-Zeneca vaccine and seems very unlikely to do so. Of course, you can generalize this to hesitancy about all covid vaccines, but given the number of doses of the Pfizer/Moderna vaccines already administered without such serious brain blood clotting incidents I, personally, wouldn't go down that road. Especially given how dangerous a disease covid is.

civilservant

Tiny isn't it

The town itself is tiny. but the greater Royston-Carnesville-Hartwell area is actually pretty populated. Lake Hartwell is a big draw.

Irish_Girl

Yes, but it was a very nice drive!

I need to check out Lake Hartwell...got the second dose soon, so maybe then.

Steerpike

One of my best buddies in the UK is a vet; so not a doctor, but at least 'medically aware' shall we say. He pointed out that the AZ vaccine 'blood clotting' issue has been found to be particularly dangerous to women between 20 and 55, with 30 cases so far in Germany. Conversely, only 200 women have died of Covid in Germany under the age of 50 - • Coronavirus (COVID-19) deaths by gender and age Germany 2021 | Statista . So the 'much, much higher' risk is not quite so high when you look at the more detailed data for women under 50. I'm following up on his information right now, but so far, I'm inclined to think this is worth considering. He also mentioned that Prof. Neil Ferguson is questioning the use of AZ in UK in younger people. I may post this over in the 'other' Covid thread as it's more relevant there.

Lion in Winter

And it looks as though people are considering it, starting to offer other vaccines to younger women. Some countries won't have that sort of choice, however.

As a semi-random aside, it would have been nice if the international community were so concerned about the elevated risk of blood clots of women in this age bracket who take birth control pills - a risk three to four times greater than non-birth-control-pill takers. But I digress...

Giantaxe

Actually it may not be a digression - I've seen some theorize that most - but not all - of the deaths have been in younger women on birth control. So the possibility exists that the combination of birth control and the vaccine is elevating the blood clotting risk in some people to an unfortunate level.

Anyway, given that the AZ vaccine isn't authorized in the US, the TIO threads on covid are probably a better place for this kind of discussion.

Steerpike

Here's my post over in that Covid-19 thread where this discussion continues ...

https://britishexpats.com/forum/take.../#post12992391

Jerseygirl

Thank you.

Please note...this thread is for people to post their vaccination experiences. Discussions re the vaccine, Covid etc should be posted in the thread in TIO. Steerpike posted a link to said thread above. Thanks

Steerpike

Had my second Pfizer jab today. Just like with the first one, I got very light-headed while sitting out the 15-minute waiting period, and felt like I might pass out (I've never ever fainted in my life, so I can only assume this is what the lead-up feels like!). Never experienced anything quite like it. It only lasted for ~1 minute; I took a few deep breaths and the moment passed. I really wonder if it was because I had the jab in a Walmart in a seedy part of town, and the clientele was decidedly 'non-compliant' (mask / distancing-wise). I wonder if I was sub-consciously not breathing enough, trying to avoid breathing in the 'exhaust' from all the passers-by ...

Anyway - sore arm is all I can report tonight; let's see what tomorrow brings! I made sure I had essentials in stock so I wouldn't have to go out tomorrow.

Already made plans to be in LA in 2 weeks to meet some friends (all of whom have also been vaccinated).

scrubbedexpat099

My SO had her first Moderna Tuesday, minor sore arm but nothing else. Moderna is now available in UK.

dave2702

Got my first Moderna a week ago, apart from feeling a little light-headed I was ok. Second appointment is now only three weeks away

Back in the UK, Dad has his 1st (Pfizer Appointment) way back at the beginning of March but is still awaiting his second so I may beat him to the 2nd dose

Illinois seemed to have so many critieria, what with State criteria, County Criteria, Town criteria and Chicago criteria. I didn't quite match the State nor the County but did with Chicago's so went to Walgreens with a bale-full of paperwork to prove I was eligible and they didn't need to see any. Just Driving Licence and Medical Card

robtuck

I got my first shot of Moderna two weeks ago in a Walmart's Garden Centre section. I am fairly certain it was Moderna and not a pesticide, either way, just a bit of a sore arm for a few hours, same for my wife. My daughter had her first shot of Pfizer and had nothing to report - mind you, she is petrified of needles so was essentially drugged to the eyeballs on taking it (legally).

Steerpike

Happy to report, today ('the day after') reveals nothing more than the sore arm!

Edit To Add: - there was no line whatsoever, and no-one seemed to be after me. Not sure what this implies, but my guess is, things are really settling down (or they have limited supplies?).

Just curious - what constitutes 'drugged to the eyeballs (legally)'? Alcohol? I was apprehensive about an MRI a few years ago and got the doc to give me a vallium-like sedative, which was most enjoyable!

Lion in Winter

Google tells me that fainting after vaccination is quite common. Any vaccination. I'd never heard of it before.

S Folinsky

Prevnar threw me for a loop a couple of years back. Moderna #1 was a slight case of the blahs and #2 no side effects other than sore arm that evening.