My Experience with the COVID-19 Vaccine

By Liz Mover

I am an ICU nurse who has been caring directly for critically ill COVID patients since March. I have been a nurse for over 15 years but this pandemic is nothing like anything else I have seen before. When I heard the vaccine would be available, at first I was nervous. I didn’t know much about it and like anything else new, I was unsure.

I did a lot of research and ultimately was excited to receive it! My first vaccine (Pfizer) went smoothly and felt great despite arm soreness for 2 days afterwards. Twenty one days later I received the second part of the vaccine. About 18 hours afterwards I began to feel achy and progressively felt worse throughout the day. I was febrile to 102.2, chills, muscle aches, and headaches for about a day. Lots of sleep, Ibuprofen, and staying hydrated helped. My body reacted to the vaccine and was forming antibodies to keep me safe from COVID! Due to the high fevers, I was required to get tested for COVID and thankfully was negative!

The vaccine provides me with some hope that this pandemic will end eventually and healthcare workers can get some rest and begin to heal physically and emotionally from the incredible challenges we have experienced over the past 10 months.