Pfizer Vaccine #1

After months of worry and waiting, I finally received my first COVID-19 vaccine, the Pfizer version.

For some time now, the elder population of South Korea along with medical personnel and other key professionals have been eligible for the vaccine. This phase in late July and early August was the time for teachers to receive the vaccine, and I was at the tail-end of the phase. Appointments for my age group started a few days after I received the shot, so basically, I got the vaccine a few days earlier as a teacher than I would've in my age bracket.

The appointments were made online and foreigners across the country had trouble setting their appointments due to technical problems and other factors. Luckily, my Korean co-teacher made the appointment for me, so I didn't even have to worry about it. She went above and beyond. Since it was a first-come, first-serve system, she stayed up until 2am to make the online appointment. She made our appointments for Saturday, August 7th during summer vacation.

The vaccination site was at a small clinic only a 10-minute walk from our school. My co-teacher asked me to meet her at the grocery store at 9:30am and we'd go together to the clinic. As I waited outside the grocery store at 9:30am I got a text message, "Let's meet at 9:40am."  

At 9:42am I saw my co-teacher approaching. On the short walk to the clinic, she explained that I wouldn't be able to take a shower for a few days after the vaccine because it could cause a skin rash. I guess this happened to her friend or she heard it on the news or something. I simply responded "uh-huh." She also explained that I wouldn't be permitted to use my topical skin cream for a while because it "interferes" with the vaccine. Again, I responded, "uh-huh, sure." She said she'd verify with the doctor. 

We arrived at the clinic, removed our shoes and placed them in the shoe cupboard and put on a pair of incredibly small guest slippers. We filled in some forms that my co-teacher helped me with, took our temperature and had a seat. Quickly, I was called back to the desk. Something about being a foreigner. Changes were made to my form, then we sat again and waited. 

After only a few minutes, we're called into a consultation room with a doctor. My co-teacher and the doctor proceeded to have a conversation that included showing the doctor a bottle of my skin cream. I didn't understand much but knew that I was asked about any allergies that I might have. 

Next, we moved into another room. There are already four people in the room who had received their shot and were waiting the required 20 minutes before they could leave. Without much to do, my co-teacher and I were called in turn to sit behind a curtain where a nurse administered the vaccine. I barely felt the needle go in. A small bandage was put on my shoulder. Easy-peezy. My co-teacher immediately looked sick and pale.

During our wait, my neighbour came into the room and got her vaccine immediately after us. It was a strange coincidence that she was there. She works and lives in my building and helped me sort out a water leak once. She and my co-teacher spoke for a while in Korean.

When it was time to leave, I asked my co-teacher to explain what she learned from the doctor about "showering" and "using skin creams that interfere with the vaccine". The doctor had told her that showering was "fine" and using skin cream was "unrelated" to the vaccine. Good thing we checked with the doctor or else my co-worker's wackadoo opinions would have prevailed. 

My co-teacher and I had plans for after the injection but she said she felt like vomiting, so we postponed our plans.

I checked on my co-teacher the next day. She was feeling better but had some arm soreness. I was basically fine. I felt tired and had a slight headache at first, but I recovered quickly.

Our appointment for the second shot was automatically set upon making the first appointment. We were to report to the same clinic at the same time exactly 3 weeks from the first appointment. Well, that was the plan anyway. We just received word that because of a short supply of vaccines, our second appointments have been pushed back by another two weeks. Instead of August 28th, our second injection will be on September 11th unless there are further delays. I just want to get it over with and have the peace of mind of being fully vaccinated.