Courtesy clinical assistant professor, UF College of Medicine
Pediatrician, Gainesville
Well, I chose to receive the vaccine because I was just really, really excited and happy that is became available, because I wanted to be able to better protect my patients, my family, which includes my 92-year-old mother-in-law, my neighbors and also myself from getting the virus and possibly sick and die from such a terrible disease.
And I didn’t want to spread it to anyone else, and I wanted to end the pandemic.
The side effects that I had from the vaccine were very mild. The first vaccine that I got I only had some soreness in my arm and I didn’t even have to take Tylenol for it, it just went away by itself within a few hours.
The second vaccine I did have some headache, and some nausea and that happened about twelve hours after the vaccine was given, and it also went away without any intervention.
People that I know who are hesitant to get the vaccine are – are quite a few, and what I have told them is what I feel, is that the benefit of not spreading this deadly virus to other people and also, you know, the potential of yourself being very sick and dying, far outweigh the risk of the safe and effective vaccine.
Being that I have been exposed to people with the COVID vaccine and I would always feel, apprehensive about being around people, even with masks and distancing, because I had not gotten the vaccine. But after receiving both doses of the vaccine, I do feel excited and happy about not being the one who could spread this to someone else.