The second dose is a BIG DEAL

We got our second COVID-19 vaccine a few days ago. In two weeks we will be considered “fully vaccinated.” This is exciting because we are part of the solution to this pandemic, and also because the CDC’s guidelines are changing, and we are on our way to being able to go back to doing the things we love to do.

Two stickers on a vaccine card is a BIG DEAL. [ For the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 Vaccine, it’s just one sticker.]

If you read my last post on my first COVID-19 vaccine, you may remember how incredibly emotional I felt about it. I can’t recall many days since last spring where I didn’t type “COVID-19” for one of my many writing jobs. I have to type about this disease and vaccine just about every day. So, getting the vaccine felt like a big deal. But when I got the first dose, it wasn’t, and that was hard.

Getting the second dose felt like I closed a chapter––not the whole book, but a chapter.

I went home, and that night I felt achy and exhausted. I felt that way into the next day, but not for long. And that next day is when the CDC announced its new guidelines that fully vaccinated people could shed their masks in many places where the unvaccinated could not.

I don’t know how I feel about that yet.

We have a really long road ahead of us. We may be getting boosters every year like we do for the flu shot. Or maybe we won’t. That’s still undecided as of right now: May 2021.

I wonder what I’ll be writing about coronavirus vaccines in May 2022. Time will tell.

For now, all we can do is get vaccinated. If you’re not getting vaccinated, continue to wear your mask.

I urge everyone hesitant to get this vaccine to make sure you’re getting your information from reputable resources. Are you searching for information that backs up your beliefs, or are you seeking information that the experts agree to be accurate? I am linking some reputable resources below so that you have a great starting point in your quest for information.

Get those vaccine cards filled up and stay safe, everyone!!

COVID-19 Vaccine Resources