Fully Vaccinated~! Now what?

[Stig / Major Tom]

Received my second dose of Moderna today. We each had appointment times and filed in, well spaced, in an orderly fashion at a site well organized by the county health department.
I have to say that - in all my experience with the government (read Army, license bureaus, etc. ) - these folks did a great job.



Now I need to read what I can do , and can't do according to the health experts.
I have read that while I may still contract covid - and can pass it to others who are not vaccinated - I will not likely die from, or experience complications so serious as to require hospitalization. Both of those were certainly in the mix for me should I have contracted covid while unvaccinated at my present age & health.



I still need to be masked to protect others. A couple of us vaccinators can now sit & play chess, I take it.

Tomorrow I will see if I can yet play the violin. (or the banjo - if my moderna goes that way)

The county hired four guys from the U.K. to put on a little celebratory do in the parking lot for us seniors.


The sun went down and things got lively......



Stig

[Stig / Major Tom]

BTW - 10 hours on, no side effects yet. Expect a sore arm tomorrow....maybe brain fever?
Have alerted my daughter - if I'm not home by noon from my scooter ride tomorrow. Use the cell towers to locate me.....I'll be getting hungry.
Stig

[Iahawk]

both shots, good for you! I have heard from a number of people who felt pretty bad the next day. In fact they even cancelled school in a small town near here because they did a mass teacher vaccination and about 40% of them didn't feel well enough to go to work!

You're also in luck as the CDC just released new guidelines for those recently vaccinated. 2 weeks until you're fully protected and then you can hug non vaccinated relatives!

[Neil955i]

Well done Tom!  Nice to see Mick & the lads put on a bit of a do for you...  Saw them on the Steel Wheels tour (1990) at Wembley Stadium. 

We're on a 12 week space between jabs 1 and 2 so I don't get my second one for another few weeks yet.

[Iahawk]

Saw them on the Steel Wheels tour (1990) at Wembley Stadium.

Hey, I saw the Stones on that same tour! Steel Wheels back in '90. Although seeing them in Wembley Stadium sounds a little cooler (to us Yanks) than seeing them where I did at the Iowa State University football stadium. I think I saw Paul McCartney that same year at the same stadium.  It was a good year for concerts.

[Neil955i]

Hey, I saw the Stones on that same tour! Steel Wheels back in '90. Although seeing them in Wembley Stadium sounds a little cooler (to us Yanks) than seeing them where I did at the Iowa State University football stadium. I think I saw Paul McCartney that same year at the same stadium.  It was a good year for concerts.

How about Fleetwood Mac at Atlantic City on one very memorable trip to the US?  Fantastic night.

[big blue]

Got my first Moderna last Friday and have an appointment for first week in April for second. Can't wait.

[jak51]

Well, Stig, I beat you to the punch, or should I say... jab.  I got my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine last Thursday morning, March 4.  Only side effect was that I was tired, and took a nap in the afternoon.  That was about it.  Arm was sore for a day, but then it eased up.  My wife got her first Moderna vaccine on March 3, and she had no side affects other than a sore arm for a day.  I got my shots at a local Walgreen's.  I somehow caught their schedule at the right time and was able to book both appointments the day before my first scheduled shot.  Very smooth process.  My wife had been told about a clinic that was giving shots, and she called first thing in the morning and left a message.  We didn't expect to hear form them, but at 3:15 as we were returning home from a Costco run, my wife's cellphone rang.  She didn't recognize the number, but I told her to answer the call.  Turned out to be someone from the clinic asking my wife how quickly she could get to their office.  We got there at 3:50, along with four other people they had called, and they all got their first doses, as well as appointments for their second shots.  Turns out that the clinic does this if they have doses left over after their last scheduled appointment.  Talk about luck!

Now, as the weather is deciding what to do - 70 today and tomorrow, 36 on Friday, 40's for several days after that, I'm starting to think about riding again.  My scoot's in a friend's garage for the winter.  He's in Florida and won't be back for a couple of weeks.  As soon as he gets home, I'll go over and get the scoot.

Like everyone else who's gotten both doses, I'm keeping a close eye on what I can and can't do.  Fauci has been pretty good about giving some guidance, and Ohio is also doing an OK job.  But the CDC seems to be taking the lead on providing guidance for "life after vaccinations."  We won't be traveling anytime soon, and we'll only be socializing with people who have also received both doses.  But we may be more likely to go to a restaurant, but not a bar.  I won't be doing any group rides.  And regardless, we'll be wearing masks when we're out in public, and around people we don't know.

There are a lot of bridges to cross, or not, when we come to them.

[Neil955i]

Like everyone else who's gotten both doses, I'm keeping a close eye on what I can and can't do.  Fauci has been pretty good about giving some guidance, and Ohio is also doing an OK job.  But the CDC seems to be taking the lead on providing guidance for "life after vaccinations."  We won't be traveling anytime soon, and we'll only be socializing with people who have also received both doses.  But we may be more likely to go to a restaurant, but not a bar.  I won't be doing any group rides.  And regardless, we'll be wearing masks when we're out in public, and around people we don't know.

There are a lot of bridges to cross, or not, when we come to them.

That seems like a sensible and pragmatic way to go.  Good call jak51

[klaviator]

It will likely be at least another month or two before I can get vaccinated.  I'm not quite old enough, sick enough or work in a high risk job.  I'm still doing most of the things I want to do.  Once I get vaccinated I plan on resuming normal life.  I'll wear a mask where required but that's about it.  Sure the risk from Covid won't be completely gone but then any one of us could die any day from thousands of different things.  I take reasonable precautions but I refuse to stop living because "something could happen".  Even if I locked myself in a sterile room I wouldn't be 100% safe.  I'd probably die of boredom or depression.

[JJJoseph]

Even if I locked myself in a sterile room I wouldn't be 100% safe.  I'd probably die of boredom or depression.

Amen to that.  I'm tired of being a sissy about this stuff.  The bikers in my neighborhood have found that we can have coffee 4' apart from each other and still survive.  I'll keep you posted.  We're soon going to try for 3' apart.

[LidoCA]

 I finally managed to navigate the chaotic L.A. County websites. My first appointment is on 3/30. I am a bit concerned about side effects, since my Covid case was a little rough. The pneumonia and recovery kept me off work for a while. Thankfully, I fared better than a lot of people.

[Stig / Major Tom]

"6 Ways to Deal with Selfish People During COVID-19" is a good read.
Even after 12 months......

Stig

[jak51]

The link to the article, which appeared in Psychology Today, is:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-couch/202004/6-ways-deal-selfish-people-during-covid-19

It is an interesting article, and may help explain some of the incredible rudeness and lack of empathy we're seeing today.  But of course, no one who rides a Kymco is rude, selfish or thoughtless, right?

What kills me the most is some people's absolute disregard for doing something as simple as wearing a mask.  We're in what we hope to be the final throes of the COVID pandemic, but people just can't get it through their thick heads that "it ain't over yet."  Is not wearing a mask a symbol of machismo; does it prove one's invulnerability; does it represent one's "I ain't wearing no stinking mask" attitude?  I don't know.  But until the vast majority of the population is vaccinated and the experts give the "all clear," the virus is still out there.  And it kills.  I had to livestream the funeral of a good friend who died of COVID last week.  He was 70.  That's the second friend I've lost to COVID in the past six weeks. 

Selfishness vs science.  Who's going to win that one?

Jeff

[Neil955i]

The link to the article, which appeared in Psychology Today, is:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-couch/202004/6-ways-deal-selfish-people-during-covid-19

It is an interesting article, and may help explain some of the incredible rudeness and lack of empathy we're seeing today.  But of course, no one who rides a Kymco is rude, selfish or thoughtless, right?

What kills me the most is some people's absolute disregard for doing something as simple as wearing a mask.  We're in what we hope to be the final throes of the COVID pandemic, but people just can't get it through their thick heads that "it ain't over yet."  Is not wearing a mask a symbol of machismo; does it prove one's invulnerability; does it represent one's "I ain't wearing no stinking mask" attitude?  I don't know.  But until the vast majority of the population is vaccinated and the experts give the "all clear," the virus is still out there.  And it kills.  I had to livestream the funeral of a good friend who died of COVID last week.  He was 70.  That's the second friend I've lost to COVID in the past six weeks. 

Selfishness vs science.  Who's going to win that one?

Jeff

Well said Jeff.  You may niggle some on here, but I for one take your point and agree with it.