The vaccine isn’t so bad, even if you don’t like shots

I channeled my inner 6-year-old recently when I was offered a chance to take the COVID-19 vaccine. She did not want a shot. And she did not want a shot she hadn’t taken before.
Let me explain.
Back in the fall, I got the flu vaccine for the first time in many years. Normally I roll the dice. I know it’s not the best plan, but medical stuff freaks me out. No better way to say it. I just don’t like it.
But… it was more important this year, because of, you know, everything.
And that sucker hurt. Not just getting it, but for several days after.
I called my best friend Crystal, who lives in Texas with her 6-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son, to share my pain.
I wasn’t dramatic about it in the least when I told my story. And I happened to be on speaker while she was driving her daughter, Jessie, home.
Crystal sympathized and mentioned she needed to take the kids to get their flu shots.
That’s when we realized Jessie had been paying attention to our conversation from the backseat. Little ears and all.
Jessie wasn’t happy, especially after listening to my — okay maybe slightly dramatic — retelling.
Crystal tried to calm her down, and after all, she said, they weren’t going to get the shot today.
But when the day came, it was going to hurt, Jessie responded, not pacified at all.
And that’s how I felt when we got the email early on a Friday afternoon that I was eligible and a vaccine slot was available..
I needed to sign up by the end of the business day if I wanted it.
I missed that deadline. Despite the people I’ve talked to and the articles I’ve read (‘The race to save the world’ by Walter Isaacson, Time magazine, Jan. 18, is a really good one), I still wasn’t convinced I wanted another shot right this minute.
By Monday I’d come around, and luckily for me, there was still a spot open.
So, I’ve had the first part of the vaccine and it hasn’t been any worse than what you might expect from the flu or another type of vaccine. The injection site certainly hurt for less time. I’ll go in a few weeks for the second shot. And, OK, I’m not looking forward to it. Jeez, I’m not crazy.
But, for me, it’s the right thing to do. I have family members with conditions that could put them at risk for a more serious case of COVID-19. We’ve seen far too little of each other this year, and I want that to change as soon as it can.
Donna Farley is editor of the Daily American Republic and can be reached at dfarley.dar@gmail.com.