On Monday, April 12, just a bit over
three weeks since our first Coronavirus vaccinations, M and I drove back to fabulous Fremont, Ohio for our second round of the
Pfizer vaccine.
Procedurally, very little changed from our first visit. The line at the CVS was longer than the first time around, and at least in my case moved very slowly. M went first. Once she was back in the car I was 5th in the socially distanced line, and that line didn't move for a good ten minutes for some inexplicable reason, but once it did start moving things went quickly and I was soon back in the car with a stamped vaccine card in my hand and a second dose of the vaccine in my left arm. Our elapsed time in Fremont was maybe 30 minutes total. Birdie slept all the way there and back again.
Several people I know had had a reaction to the second shot, so between the appointment being at 10am on a Monday morning more than an hour from our house and the anticipated reaction I took the day off. This was my first day off since parental leave for Birdie's arrival, and I spent it doing not much of anything.
I myself had no noticeable reaction to the shot, unless you call taking a nap on Monday afternoon a reaction. I suppose it could have been, but given that we've got an infant (older than three months now, not a newborn!) it might just have been a nap of opportunity. My arm didn't even hurt. M felt "weird" off and on and had a very big knot on her arm, but she didn't get nearly as sleepy as she did after the first shot.
Now we have to wait two weeks for the vaccinations to reach full efficiency, but what's another two weeks after 13 months of lockdown? Birdie still can't get vaccinated and the infection rates are still quite high, so it's not like we're going to start going to restaurants again, but at least seeing vaccinated people will be a potential option. Birdie's grandparents are all for it!
Addendum - on the Saturday following, M still has a knot on her arm and it itches a bit.