It’s a good thing my wife, Laura, is persistent. Thanks to her tenacity, we’ve both been able to get our first shots of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
According to the pharmacist who gave us our shot #1, in two weeks we should be about 60% protected from the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. After our second shot, given 28 days after the first, clinical trials report the efficacy jumps to about 94%.
We were lucky to get shot number 1
It wasn’t easy to get appointments for those shots. In Maryland, the vaccines are distributed by state health officials to county health offices, hospitals, and pharmacies. Each of these groups has its own method of distributing appointments.
Because we’re both older than 65, my wife and I are fairly high in the priority pecking order (Group 1C), but it was still difficult to get a date. Laura and I put ourselves on our county’s waiting list when our group became eligible. That was Jan. 25, and we still haven’t been called. We also signed up with three or four hospital systems, each containing several hospitals, but no luck there, either
But Feb. 1, two pharmacy groups in the state began to accept appointments, and their system is different from the others. To make an appointment, you go to their website, navigate through a maze of pages, and try to find an appointment date on a calendar that never seems to have any availabilities.
It’s not easy, but when Laura has a goal in mind she’s unstoppable. She charged her iPhone and started clicking and refreshing the websites, over and over. Five hours later, she scored an appointment for herself. Ninety minutes later, she had one for me. No matter that they were for different days and in different locations, mine an hour south and hers 45 minutes east of us. We’d drive a lot farther, if we had to, for the vaccine. (A couple of friends in their 80s, who “snowbird” from Maryland to Florida each year, flew back to Maryland for their shot, returned to Florida, and are about to fly back to Maryland for shot No. 2.)
Now, smooth sailing
With my appointment in hand for COVID-19 shot number 1, we headed to the Giant Food Pharmacy in Bowie, Maryland, grateful to start the vaccination process but worried that my name wouldn’t be on the list or that I’d have a reaction to the shot.
We needn’t have worried about either. The food store (which was, indeed, giant) was easy to navigate and the people involved with the vaccine really had their act together. There were no snags, I barely felt the shot, and we were in and out in an hour. The pharmacist even arranged to switch Laura’s next-day appointment and gave her the shot during my 15-minute post-shot waiting period, required to be sure there’s no reaction to the vaccine. My only reaction was a very slightly sore arm the next day.
MS and the COVID-19 vaccine
There has been concern that the COVID-19 vaccine might not be appropriate for people with MS (PwMS), who already have an overactive immune system and who may be using disease-modifying treatments that are designed to reduce the immune system’s response to an attack. But in January, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society recommended that PwMS receive the vaccine. It updated the recommendations February 10 regarding the timing of vaccinations for people being treated with DMSs, but the bottom line remains the same: “Get your vaccine as soon as it is available to you.” I’m very glad we did.
What’s next?
We return to the Giant Pharmacy in Bowie on March 3 for shot number 2. The pharmacist who gave us shot number 1 warned that many people have a flu-like reaction the day after that second shot, including a low-grade fever, body aches, a headache, and severe fatigue. She was one of them. But she said the next day she was fine. I’ve heard the same from my primary care doctor, so we’ll be ready with the Tylenol.
We can’t wait to feel more comfortable getting out and seeing people, still doing it from a distance and with a mask as long as necessary. And it looks like we’ll finally be able to trade Maryland’s snow and cold for Florida’s sunshine and warmth, something we’d planned to do in November.
I’ll let everyone know how it all goes in another few weeks. or so. Stay tuned.
[Have you checked out my book yet? We’re Not Drunk, We Have MS is written for MS newbies but even old MS warriors find it useful. The paperback is on Amazon and the e-book is on several e-bookstores.]
(This is an updated version of my column that first appeared on the MS News today website.)
(Featured image by Image by hakan german from Pixabay.)
