19 hours Post Vaccination






So, I got vaccinated yesterday with the vaccine that I originally did not trust. And 19 hours after I still haven’t turned into a Titan.

 

Starting next week, I’ll finally be starting my face-to-face clinical duty. And as requirement of the department that I’m currently rotating in, we need to provide a negative swab test – and so I got swabbed too. On my way to getting swabbed, we received news that our department didn’t give us a go signal to get swabbed.

 

I thought – “this must be Divine intervention”

 

For the past few days, I’ve been pondering on whether I should get vaccinated with SinoVac. The said vaccine has been the center of controversies - its low efficacy in comparison to the other brands, the overpricing in the acquisition of it, the rushed approval of EUA and being a staunch anti-DDS I did not welcome the idea of getting vaccinated with the vaccine that the President has been advocating. Aside from that, I am immunocompromised with an autoimmune disease – an additional and very important issue.

 

Months prior I already heard that Pfizer has applied for the EUA and was approved, AstraZeneca followed but no news regarding Sinovac. I thought, “ah, we’ll probably get Pfizer”. But weeks passed and no news regarding the arrival of either Pfizer not AstraZeneca. And then, all of a sudden Sinovac overtook all the rest which was quite questionable.

 

It is no wonder that Pfizer and AZ are careful with the Philippines, seeing what happened with Dengvaxxia. It has not only took a toll on this aspect, but a lot of people also don’t trust vaccines nowadays. I hear some of my mother’s friend not welcoming the idea of getting a vaccine and I blame P*rs*d* A. for this drop in trust. The vaccine is not the cure and it’s not a 100% guarantee of not getting the virus, however it gives a sense of security that if ever I do get the virus, I won’t have it in a severe form.

 

Knowing that I have an autoimmune disease, I looked up whether studies were done on special populations such as myself, however, there aren’t. Some doctors though assured that the vaccine is safe since it is not a live vaccine. However, the effects might be blunted, it would still have some effects but not the same with a normal healthy adult.

 

The vaccine being a donation also irked me. Questions like “why was it donated?” “Could it be that these doses are actually rejects?”. And conspiracy theories like that of the plot of the famous anime “Attack on Titan” was also playing in my mind. The thought of the vaccine being given in exchange of the West Philippine Sea did not sit well with my conscience.

 

Originally, I did not consent. But the fear of getting COVID as I start my duty without a vaccine, was there. So I consulted my Rheumatologist. He told me that the vaccine is safe (same with what I read) and that the best vaccine is the one available. My co-PGIs and I talked about it in our groupchat and most did not consent too however we looked up some data that SinoVac actually has a wider coverage. And maybe since the virus came from China they might actually know best how to go about it. And seeing residents and consultants getting the vaccine somehow changed our opinion. Seeing other people receive it especially those I respect and look up to was convincing enough for me to eventually consent.

 

So, yesterday, March 9, 2021 at 2:55PM I got my first dose of COVID vaccine. Prior to which a consultant approached me and screened me if I am qualified to receive the vaccine. And since my corticosteroid is now low dose and I haven’t had a flare since July, I was qualified.

 

We are settling, sadly, even though technically it is not the best out there it is what we have and is available. It is not the best in the market but it still has its benefits. And it’s almost a day since I got my shot. I felt no discomfort, not a even soreness in the injection site. I am still clearly an anti-DDS and I don’t think I’ll transform into a titan like Eren.

 

Sadly the government could have done better both at the start of this pandemic last year (had they closed our doors before the virus arrived here) and now that the vaccines are available. Hopefully the effort of the medical practitioners getting the vaccine first would increase people’s trust in vaccines and medical interventions and not on some other stunts (like tuob). And hopefully this pandemic would teach us to elect better people in the government.

 

🦋



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