BY THE TIME this article comes out, it will be 19 days after my last Pfizer shot.
My second booster shot.
Which brings my total Pfizer shots to four to date.
I love these shots.
If the COVID vaccine becomes as ordinary as the flu shots, bring them on.
***
For a while, I didn’t really believe in flu shots.
I mean, I grew up in the Philippines.
Did you hear of flu shots in the 70s, 80s, 90s?
But I became a nurse in the US.
And flu shots became mandatory for healthcare workers.
I haven’t had a flu in my adult life, but I did the shots to keep my job, and to protect myself from sickly patients.
I believe in the science of preventive medicine.
***
With the COVID-19 pandemic, I was all for the shots.
I hate the anti-vaxxers for being anti-vaxxers.
If you want to die from COVID, you are welcome.
But I will support all efforts to flatten the curve, even if it means looking down on you for not getting the shot, and getting sick, and wasting the world’s limited resources.
***
I didn’t want to cut the long vaccine line so I patiently waited for my turn.
I was no longer active as a nurse. So, I didn’t want to abuse my RN license.
I also wasn’t performing ministerial services. So, I didn’t use my religious pastor card.
The first shots for healthcare workers and the most senior were rolled out in December 2020.
I got my first shot in late March 2021.
I got my second shot three weeks later in April.
***
I got my first booster, my third shot, six months later in October.
To be honest, I only felt confident traveling after my booster shot.
But that was almost eight months ago.
So, when they announced that people my age can get a second booster, I just scheduled mine at my convenience.
Today, I got my fourth Pfizer shot, my second booster.
***
I mean, I’m planning a trip to Peru in July.
I’m planning a trip to the Philippines in August.
And I have decided to ride the trains for a month, all over America starting June 12.
And because of this traveling life, which started to go big post-pandemic with my trip to the UK and the rest of Europe early last year, I also decided to get my shingles vaccine.
***
Ah, my age! The 50s. The golden age.
When I came home from Europe in March, I did my annual physical.
Checked my blood work, my Sexually Transmitted Infections panel (I’m sexually active), screened for Depression, and updated all the vaccinations necessary.
***
I still am HIV negative. (It pays that I am on PrEP—pre-exposure prophylaxis.)
Negative for gonorrhea, chlamydia, et cetera.
My uric acid level is borderline.
My cholesterol level is a little on the high side, but I’m not surprised.
On the whole, I’m pretty healthy.
***
I’m due for the shingles vaccine. So, I got the shot.
I was scheduled for a second shot in May, but I was traveling.
So, today, I got my second shingles shot on the left arm; and the second Covid booster shot on the right arm.
Do right by the COVID-19 vaccine. Haha!
***
I’m pretty tolerant of the vaccines.
I’m even joking, I hope they are not injecting me with the placebos. Haha.
I never had reactions or side effects from the vaccines.
A little soreness, but more from the injection, rather than from the chemicals or whatever is involved.
The only side effect that I can point to is my positive confidence and sense of security.
I’ve been vaccinated, I should fare better than the unvaccinated.
***
Again, the fact that I have dodged the COVID-19 infection until this time, is my only big argument for the efficacy of the vaccines.
I’ve been exposed to people who got COVID.
Obviously, I wasn’t putting my d*ck in their holes or eating their faces, so maybe I was just good with physical distancing.
But also, I’ve been putting my d*ck in certain places and inside certain people who have recovered from COVID, or have been vaccinated.
***
You want to be smart about your life, get the vaccine while you can.
The world takes the vaccines seriously.
Take it from me. I travel more than you do.
I cover more places.
I’ve seen how difficult it is for people who have been vaccinated.
I can just imagine how hard it is for people who haven’t gotten them.
And do I pity them?
No! I certainly do not!/PN
