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Writer's pictureJen Sullivan

Omicron Booster


Image by torstensimon from Pixabay

I am proud to say that my entire household has been vaccinated against COVID-19 since we were first eligible for the vaccine. I scheduled my mom early in 2021, then my husband and I were in the second group, using our "fatness" to protect my asthma. We are all people of science, so it only makes sense to get vaccinated and boosted whenever possible. Unfortunately, with my other health issues, something as simple as a flu shot can keep me in bed for a couple of days.


When I got my first COVID shot, I suffered a lot of anxiety. Likely because it was a new thing that had not been tested for years, but also because I had them give me the shot in my left arm. I did not make that mistake again, always insisting on my right for every vaccine I've had since then. When I had severe anxiety/panic attacks, my left arm would go numb, so the slightest odd sensation in that arm triggers anxiety in my brain. Even something as simple as the underwire in my bra jabbing me. This is backed up by the blood pressure machine at my doctor's office—a machine that seems to hate me.


The second Pfizer shot even hit my husband hard, keeping him in bed for a day. I tend to feel achy all over with vaccines now, with extra joint pain thrown in. With that one, it kind of felt like we both had the flu: aches, tiredness, fever, et cetera.


I didn't get my COVID booster on time due to a series of vaccinations required for a job I ended up not taking. I was going to work for Wellspan, the local medical network, and they require all employees to have the COVID vaccine as well as tetanus (which I was overdue for) and the annual flu shot. I have never been a flu shot person simply because I never used to get the flu. At least, not before I had Lyme disease. I still don't get it often, and if I do, it only takes me about three days to kick it, but I am getting older.


I got the flu shot first and that one hit me hard. My knee is still messed up from that shot, unless it was the physical therapy that had occurred a couple of weeks earlier. Either way, the flu shot left me with severe joint pain and my knee has never returned to how it was before. That will probably be my last flu shot for now—it just isn't worth the pain. The tetanus shot was a big one, as expected, then I had my COVID booster, which I knew in advance would take me about 36 hours to return to normal.


I ended up not taking the job with Wellspan anyway since I was hired for office and computer work, but then was told I would be interacting with COVID patients. The job was at the COVID testing center and quickly went from "office job" to "sticking swabs up people's noses." I backed out really quickly after that revelation.


Since I am going back into the retail world, my mom insisted that I get the most recent COVID booster. She too was ready for her next booster, wanting the newest one that protects against the original strain and the Omicron variant. We scheduled to get our boosters, my husband included, and let me tell you, the new one packs quite a punch! My husband mostly slept, unable to keep his eyes open. My mom felt overall "like crap," as she put it. As always, I suffered body aches and joint pain, though the joint pain was delayed.


I had the option to start working this week, but until I am back to full strength, I simply cannot perform physical labor, or at least not without falling over. This one might be more of a 72-hour wait and I'll have to postpone my return to the working world until next week, giving myself plenty of time to recover. Either way, I'm sure the reactions we each had to the shot are much better than suffering through the Omicron variant without the booster. Meanwhile, I'll just suffer and continue watching Young Sheldon while hugging my Darth Maul Build-A-Bear.


The things we do to survive in today's world...

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