To be or not to be…

…is that the question?

Now I know you may be wondering what I am on about this time. No I have not started quoting Shakespeare! I am still sticking to feet – they continue to fascinate me… 

Obviously, I am wondering if I should be triple vaccinated with the COVID booster injection.

I have been contacted several times by my GP and the NHS trust I work for urging me to book in for the appointment for the COVID booster and the flu jab and the pnuemocal jab.

These messages almost arrived on a weekly bases and sometimes twice a week! I would almost dread the text or email.

But I was not keen and rather hesitant?

Why? 

I was still recovering from the viral chest infection. I wasn't feeling full of energy and nor was I back to my normal self. I still experienced fatigue and felt breathless on minor exertion. Plus with the last 2 vaccinations, it had left me with a reaction that lasted longer than the 48 hours with temperature, light-headedness and heavy head. The lack of energy carried on, almost 2-3 weeks with a constant lack of breathe that lasted months. I did not want to have the same reaction and feel miserable inside and out! Thirdly, I still had a good amount of COVID-antibodies present. So did I really want to go through it all again?

I decided to speak to my consultant and he recommended to have the vaccine to better protect myself. But he also suggested to wait it out until I felt at least 85% better as I had had a steroid input and still continue to have regular acupuncture which has been steadily improving the viral symptoms. The consultant also recommended to have it at the end of the day and then head home. He advised to rest for a couple of days post injection.

After some deep thinking, I decided that I should have it for a number of reasons. I work in a patient facing environment and I needed to protect not only my patients but myself. It also meant that I will be much more immune for the next 6-12 months as COVID is here to stay and one has to learn to live with it, but also protect one’s self. The latest study carried out by Pfizer showed: The trial of the Pfizer vaccine as a booster found that it was extremely effective against preventing illness from Covid-19.

In the 5,000 people who received the booster dose, 5 of them developed Covid-19 illness. In the 5,000 people who didn’t get the booster (but were double vaccinated) there were 109 cases of Covid-19.https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-biontech-announce-phase-3-trial-data-showing

I realise this may not resonate with everybody but in my head it felt like the correct thing to do even though it may lead to a set back to my health. It was a risk I was willing to endure! 

I plucked up the courage and booked it for Thursday 28th October at the end of the day, after work. But a patient called who tends to travel for work and could only come at the end of the day so I changed my appointment to earlier one in the afternoon, prepping myself with paracetamols beforehand.

The night before I was very apprehensive and was keen to cancel it because I really did not want to stay in bed and waste precious times.

I attended the appointment and it was booked not only for the COVID booster, but also the flu jab too. I was not convinced that I wanted to have them both at the same time.

Once I was taken in, the nurse explained the process and that I would be receiving the Pfizer booster. It was agreed that it would be in my left arm as I still had to work the afternoon.

The actual injection was a very smooth process. I hardly felt anything. Normally I feel the actual vaccine passing through my muscle but this time, it was literally just ‘a sharp scratch’. I decided that the nurse giving it to me had a very steady hand and decided to have the flu jab in the right arm which was a little more than the ‘a sharp scratch but that subsided within a few hours.

Post injection, I had no symptoms apart from a sore left arm and maybe a mild headache (but I reckon it was more to do with anxiety that I had built up during the day and the previous night), nor did I get a temperature a few hours later. I managed to see all my patients without any problems.

As the evening progressed, I was becoming more aware of the sore arm and some mild body aches. I needed some paracetamols to keep the soreness away but it was nothing like the last two times. I did not have a good night sleep and I was restless like I had plenty of energy to do nothing at all.…. The next 72 hour I felt much better 

To my amazement it was a pleasant experience (well as far as needles go) and almost painless experience. I am highly grateful for this. Maybe my body was ready for the booster jab.

We still have a while to go with the virus, but rest assured that I am taking all appropriate measures to make sure you are safe.

From vaccinations to cleaning, everything is here to make your visit as safe as possible.

Got a foot problem?   I can help.  Give me a call.

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Why did I study a Masters in Sports Science?

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Attending my first conference after lockdown.