Like a lot of people around the world, I had been waiting patiently for my Covid vaccine appointment. But the waiting ended for me on Sunday, June 13, 2021, when I got a text instructing me to report to the Orfeo Superdomo—one of many vaccination centers throughout Cordoba City, Argentina.
I was a little nervous because I'm one of those people that obsesses over reports about people dropping dead hours after they've been vaccinated. I certainly didn't want to become a statistic, but I figured that any kind of vaccine against Covid is better than nothing.
When I arrived at Orfeo, I was given a disposable mask, similar to the ones used at hospitals, to replace the mask I was wearing. This was not optional.
After checking in, I was escorted to the waiting area where other people were sitting at a respectable distance.
I was so nervous from the night before that I didn't get much sleep, so I closed my eyes thinking that I'd have to wait a while. But my group was called 5 minutes later.
I sat in front of a group of nurses, one of whom explained to us what type of symptoms we should expect after being vaccinated. It's pretty much what a lot of websites are claiming which is that you might experience headaches, body aches and chills. I asked the nurse if we were able to take cold medicine or pain pills, and she said yes. But I read that these can actually diminish the immune system's response to the vaccine. Anyway, once the brief question and answer session was out of the way, they started innoculating us.
I'll be honest, I barely felt a thing. If the needle was in me for more than 3 seconds, it was too much. I couldn't believe how quick and painless the process was. And I didn't even have to wait around to see if I got dizzy or anything like that. They just gave us a slip of paper that served as proof of our vaccination and politely showed us the door. I was very impressed by how efficient everyone was. And I consider the first vaccine an early birthday present to myself. I'm turning 44 next month.
Now, this goes without saying, but in case anyone is wondering, it was free of charge. Also, I don't think anyone in the world would be so cruel as to charge people for a Covid vaccine. Hopefully, no one proves me wrong.
I was fine for the first 12 hours or so, but by the time I went to bed, I got the chills. Now, this was to be expected because it's winter down here in Argentina. In fact, it snowed at some point in the night for the first time in forever and my husband and I didn't even know it had happened. But we had two heaters on at home and I was covered in four layers of comforters, so I knew that these chills were a side effect of the vaccine. The chills were followed by a slight fever, a severe case of diarrhea, and some minor body aches that persisted through the better part of the following day. But all of my symptoms, except for some minor discomfort in the injection site, faded within 24 hours.
Now, I'm looking forward to getting the 2nd vaccine, which I was told will be in about 20 days. We're still waiting for my husband to receive his appointment for his first vaccine, which I hope will happen within the next few weeks.
As far as life returning to normal around here, I don't have an answer for that. In the States, everything seems to be getting back on track and masks are no longer required because the rate of infection is under control. Argentina, unfortunately, is not at that stage, at least, not yet. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be by the end of the year.
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