Another Covid Booster

Aren’t we lucky to be in the “over 65 category?” All told we have had about eight Covid vaccines and boosters. As far as we can tell, neither my husband nor I have ever had Covid - an unusual circumstance based on what we hear from our friends and neighbors. And many have contracted it in the last six months. So, wanting to continue our winning streak, we thought it would be a good idea to get another booster since our last vaccine was in September 2023. And since we will be venturing out to visit family later this month it’s always a good thing to be prepared - especially around a college aged grandson. So we picked up the required paperwork when we went grocery shopping on Tuesday and walked over to Giant yesterday. It wasn’t very busy at the pharmacy, but we needed to wait 45 minutes for them to get things prepared. We picked up a couple of groceries and then we took our morning walk in the neighborhood there. The time passed quickly and when we went back to the counter everything was ready. We know the process all too well by now. Obviously a lot of people don’t care any more about Covid, but the CDC recommendations came out recently. And being in health care all of our careers and also being in the “danger category” were reason enough to get it done. So now we have sore arms and are a bit fatigued. But it still beats the alternative based on the stories we hear. 

Covid Second Booster at Giant

We both feel like we have been hit by a truck - my husband worse than me. Yesterday we decided to get the second Covid booster vaccine. The reason is simple - we are both over 60, we got our first booster at the end of September, we still have Christmas presents to deliver to central Virginia, and having been in health care all of our careers it was an appropriate thing to do. My husband has received Moderna four times, and I have gotten Pfizer. The last two doses we got at Giant - the first two were at the Virginia Hospital Center for him and the Virginia Community Center for me. We didn’t know how busy the pharmacy would be at Giant, but the wait wasn’t bad because they already had our paperwork from the last time and we had grocery shopping to do anyway. We brought our vaccine cards in. There wasn’t any space left on the front so they had to document the dose on the back. The first thing we noticed was the sore arm. My husband then got the itches around the injection site. But last night was really uncomfortable for both of us. We couldn’t sleep. He had chills and a temp, muscle aches, a little nausea and a racing heart. I had a racing heart and just didn’t feel right. Our walk this morning was cut in half because we are a bit tired! I don’t remember having any of these symptoms the first three times. There must be something about the timing of these boosters. All we care is that they are effective. It would be dreadful to feel worse than this if it could be helped. Now let’s hope the infection rate stays low enough to finally deliver those Christmas presents. 

Pfizer Booster

It was such a harrowing time a year ago. The anticipation of getting COVID vaccines was paramount for both my husband and myself. Because of age, my husband got his first - through our doctor’s office. A month later I got mine at the Health department. We both needed to have appointments, and things were pretty organized given the state of things. Now it’s been over six months and it’s time to get a booster. Things are different now than then - people are tired of hearing about it, and for our part, we follow the guidelines. Being in health care gives us a different perspective. Seeing the exhausted workforce makes us feel sad. Last week we stopped at the Giant pharmacy to get our flu shots. While we were there we took home the paperwork to fill in the forms to get the covid vaccine. It would save time, and the person who gave us the shots said morning would be the best time. So this morning, rather than take our morning walk, we drove over to Giant with our paperwork and vaccine cards. There was one person in front of us. We were attended to, got a number, and did a bit of grocery shopping. When the number came up, we got back in line. The same person who gave us the flu shot last week gave us the covid vaccines today. It feels odd to become friends with the pharmacy staff. Anyway, it was an uneventful outing. And that’s how it should be.