Getting vaccinated... eventually

[wiseheart]

Our local GP gave us today a call. Apparently, Mum is in the top ten of the people who get vaccinated next. Since she would have to go to the nearest big hospital to get her jab, she decided to wait a little longer, so that the GP can give it her under less... errr... crowded circumstances. But she's getting it, fairly soon, it seems.

We're still of two minds about the whole thing, as possible side effects are still not known, but we decided to choose the lesser evil. Now it's to pray that her system will be able to deal with the vaccine. I hope it will, but you can never know.

In other news, we had the monthly cleaning frenzy today, and in the afternoon my friend Evie dropped by to congratulate Mum to her birthday. It was a bit weird, having to wear masks indoors half the day, but better safe than sorry. Evie and the cleaning lady were wearing masks, too, and we put at least three metres of distance between us and aired the living room (the biggest one in the flat) fiercely. Yes, it was still a bit of a risk, I know. But it felt like normal life - even with the restrictions. We haven't felt normal for so very long; not even this new kind of normal.

Also, I worked a great deal on the bunny garden page. Only the vegetable beds left now (and the vegetables themselves, of course).

Comments

[jusummerhayes.livejournal.com]

Normal. I think I've forgotten what it is. I'm worried I might now be agoraphobic. Take care, Ju

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

We try. And as a rule we are pretty disciplined, really. But sometimes you have this irresistible urge to actually live a little. This was one of those times — and we were as careful as we could, honestly.

[jusummerhayes.livejournal.com]

I know where you're coming from. My wife is a nurse and it's all so very real. I'm staying out of harm's way -- high risk and all that -- but my patience is wearing a bit thin.

[artemis10002000]

Aaaah, I'm glad she'll getting her turn soon!

I'm still trying to get through to the hotline to get my Mom put on the waiting list *sigh* My state has fucked this up completely, they hired a private company to handle all the scheduling and they're clearly way out of their depth.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Over here it was regulated centrally; all citizens got a letter — a real one, by snail mail — asking them if they wanted to be vaccinated, and we sent back a positive answer.

[artemis10002000]

That sounds so much more organized! Here they also did a snail mail letter, which took them a month, but the letter only said to call the hotline. Which I've been trying for a week now.

[meathiel]

Good to hear your mum's getting vaccinated soon.
I really hope they will include GPs here as well, it would be so much less hassle than having to drive to one of these centres.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

That is true. We're still a bit concerned about possible side effects, but... it is hard to make the right decision when you don't have the necessary facts.

[noadvertising.livejournal.com]

I wonder if we´ll ever get rid of those masks! And I fear that what has been "normal" once will never come back again. What we consider abnormal is in reality the new normal...Good luck to your mother!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'm an incurable optimist, so I hope that things will get better, eventually. Until then, a distance meeting wearing masks is still better than not seeing any people at all, right?

[motodraconis.livejournal.com]

Airing the room (and the masks of course) seems to be the best approach, well done!

Good luck with the vaccine. Maman had hers last week and had no side effects at all. If your mum can cope with flu jabs without getting a bad reaction, then the chances are she'll sail though this jab too.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

We never had flu jabs in our lives, so we can't build on such previous experience. I still hope Mum will cope with this one well enough. *fingers crossed*

[adafrog.livejournal.com]

Yay for vaccine soon!
I'm all for the vaccines, but I was still worried a bit about my parents, who are in their 80's. But everyone I know who is older and has already had it did really well.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

That is good to hear. I'm crossing my fingers and prying because there isn't really any alternative, is there?

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

That is good news. I hope she can get it done by her GP soon; the big centres are a bit worrying no matter how much people try to stay distanced and wear their masks, so I think the three weeks after a visit to one of them might be quite a stressful time.

I now know about a dozen people who have had the vaccinations, and the side effects seem to be exactly as already found in the trials — most of them had no side effects at all, a couple have had swollen arms, one of those felt a bit shivery for 24 hours, and only one person felt unwell enough to take to her bed for 24 hours; as she is in her 40s and in good health (she is a hospital worker hence being done quite early) I think it must be fairly random. It doesn't seem to be giving any more problems than the annual flu jabs do, which is reassuring.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

It would be if we ever had any flu jabs. Since we never did, though, we don't have any previous experience to compare with. *sigh*

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I went into my local pharmacy for my last flu jab, it took 3 minutes to fill out the paperwork, 5 seconds for her to administer it, and I never thought about it again except to think, that evening, 'I wonder if the site of my jab is red?' It wasn't :)

This is true for most people. Occasionally it can get a little red and warm feeling. Very occasionally it makes you feel as if you have a mild dose of the flu for 24 hours, which happened to our minister this year. She took some paracetamol and had an early night, followed by a quiet day. Her arm was sore for the next 3 or 4 days, but otherwise she was fine.

I hope this helps :)

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the encouragement, we really need it.

[elwenlj.livejournal.com]

I think the last person to visit my home ie. enter it, was the meter reading man. Before that I think it was the landlord, back in summer. I am declaring my home a visitor free zone. A and I even wore masks to exchange Sunday dinner on the doorstep.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

That is probably the wisest thing to do. Unfortunately, we have to let certain people in (like the cleaning lady and the chiropodist on a regular basis, and lately the TV mechanic). Last time Evie was here was back in summer, too. I've managed to keep off the insurance agent who manages my accounts, though, and I consider that no small feat. *g*

[mirasaui.livejournal.com]

Good to see the vaccine becoming available in your area. My age group is supposedly eligible next week, although it will be a fight to make an appointment -- first come, first serve in our state, and limited vaccines, so quite a long wait list.