Getting my First Dose of Covid Vaccination

Covid-19 has completely shaken us as the situation has deteriorated. A new “double mutant variant of Covid-19” is affecting us badly which has made 2021 more dreadful. The hustle in hospitals, health centres for beds, oxygen cylinders, concentrators and now even for vaccination has amplified uncontrollably. 

Initially, only those who were above the age of 45 were being vaccinated, but the sudden spike compelled the government to inoculate the entire eligible population, thus from 1 May 2021 vaccination for those above the age of 18 was commenced, across the country. The registrations for the same were unfurled from 28 April 2021.

Currently, the slots are booked a day or two in advance to get vaccinated. However, I must say, it is a tedious job and getting a slot is definitely a masterstroke. Since a lot of people are at home in lockdown and they want to be vaccinated, it’s a complete hustle to get your slot in the very first attempt. At times, the system stops responding due to multiple concurrent requests and I too faced a lot of difficulty due to the same. We got to know from one health worker that vaccination will be starting from 4 May, 2021 in our locality and we need to schedule it as per the availability of timings and medicine in the centre. Also, the system just opens at night for once and whenever it does, people would just try to put every ounce of effort to get their slot booked.

After days of repeated efforts, I could successfully get myself registered for the vaccination along with my family members. I chose the 9 am – 11 am slot and when we actually went to the center, the next day, we had to wait for more than an hour due to the long queue.

While getting the jab, it does not hurt much, however, there are reactions to our immune system a couple of hours later that can last up to 48-72. The staff at the vaccination centre asked us to wait for 30 minutes to observe any major reaction. All those who are vaccinated are informed of the possible complications like fever, fatigue, swelling, vomiting, etc. It is advisable to consume only paracetamol in case of major complications and a strict ‘no’ to painkillers. Those who get inoculated should take complete rest, consume a lot of fluids and citrus fruits to keep their body and immune system in sync with each other in order to develop the antibodies. There have been numerous rumours with regard to vaccination, like, it can cause you death or people who are asthmatic, have undergone cardiological surgery, suffer from hypertension or any other disease should not take it. However,  my father had major heart surgery last year so we consulted the doctor and he advised us to get him vaccinated. You might develop some reactive symptoms post-vaccination as the dose is a little heavy for our body but it doesn’t have any major side effects. It is highly recommended and suggestive to all those eligible for the inoculation to get themselves vaccinated as soon as possible in order to defeat the novel coronavirus. Vaccination is your sole shield in this battle as we are gradually running towards the third wave which might be more destructive.

– By Shivani Yadav

(Alumnus Vidya School)