COVID-19 Vaccination

DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor and any content provided in this post is information I found useful and wanted to share. The purpose of this post is to share my personal experience, and not to provide medical advice on the quality and efficacy of the vaccine, nor do I intend to provide personal medical advice to any individual as to whether you should or should not receive the COVID vaccine. 

COVID-19 took over 2020. We are finally at a stage in this pandemic where we have a vaccine that is coming out. There is still a lot to learn about how the vaccine works and how often we’d need to get it and whether it protects against different strains of the virus, but we’re finally at a point where we have something that can potentially (and hopefully) contain and limit the spread of this virus. I know that some people are worried about getting the vaccine from the pure standpoint of we don’t know a whole lot about it yet, but I personally think that it’s one more thing that we can all do to contain and limit the spread of this virus. 

I was eligible for the vaccine because I am classified as a healthcare worker. I got an email the first Monday in January and I was able to schedule an appointment for the shot for that same Saturday. I live in the state of Maryland, and while Maryland doesn’t (or at least didn’t at the time) have many locations available providing the vaccine, I wound up going to Virginia to get mine. There were no issues with me getting the vaccine in the state of Virginia even though I live in Maryland. I live in the DC area, so driving to VA is really not a huge deal here and is a pretty standard commute.

This is me after getting my first vaccine shot

The location I went to was at a local high school in VA. They had it all set up to have people get people vaccinated, but keep socially distant and safe. I first parked in their garage. My appointment was scheduled for 11:30am, but I was early and went in at 11:20 with no issues. I first came up to some staff in the parking lot who asked to see my QR code before directing me to a white tent outside of the building. The site I made an appointment with gave me a QR code that I needed to have with me to get my vaccination. It was a little strange though, because nobody ever scanned it. The guy just asked to look at it. I also may have stepped a little too close to the first guy and he took a very obvious step back and gave me a look, so they were very strict about keeping social distance. 

I next went and spoke to a lady outside of the building and gave her my name and date of birth. She then directed me to a table inside the building. The entire area from the parking garage and throughout the inside of the building was set up with stickers on the ground showing you where to stand to remain socially distant and to show which direction to walk. There were also signs before walking in and inside the building saying that there was no photography or video footage allowed inside. 

The guy I spoke to inside the building asked me a bunch of questions that I completed in a pre-screening online, but I guess they just asked them again. All of these questions were about allergies and whether you’ve ever had an anaphylaxis reaction to a medication before. I have never had a reaction like that before, but for those of you on Palynziq and have had reactions, you may have trouble getting the vaccine. They provided information both in email and in person that if you get anaphylaxis from this shot, they recommend not getting the second shot. Just something to be aware of when going to get the shot. I’m not sure if they would turn you away if you’ve ever had anaphylaxis so be prepared to have more screening questions or difficulty getting the shot if you have. 

Once I answered his questions, he told me to follow the stickers on the ground and they led me to the line to the actual area where I would be getting my shot. It was similar to being in line at a security checkpoint in the airport, but minus the metal detector. It wasn’t a bad wait, maybe about 5 minutes in line. But once you get through the “checkpoint” they have a bunch of tables set up with 2 or 3 staff at each, one who administers the shot, and one that fills out your vaccine card. They go over the same questions about allergic reactions before providing the shot. Once the shot was done, they told me to self-monitor in my car for 15 minutes before leaving. I was also told I have to schedule my second in 28 days (I have to come in on exactly the 28th day, not the day before or after). I received the Moderna shot, so the time frame may be different for the Pfizer vaccine.

Proof of vaccination card

Getting the actual shot at the table took about 5 minutes. I had my shot on my left arm since that was the arm closest to the nurse. The main symptom they told me I would probably experience was muscle soreness in my arm where I got the shot. They told me if the pain was too much to take Tylenol not ibuprofen, it can potentially reduce its effects. Obviously, anaphylaxis was a concern, hence the 15 minute self-monitoring time in my car. The only symptom I experienced was muscle soreness in my arm and I fortunately did not have any other symptoms. One of my co-workers had some “sickness” symptoms since she did not come in the first couple days after her shot. I don’t know exactly what they were, but I know they were COVID-like symptoms, possibly coughing or sore throat but i’m not sure. 

I scheduled my second shot for 28 days later. I went back and this time the process was basically the same, but I got through a bit quicker this time. They still had so many people at all these “checkpoints” and the first five people all asked me the same thing, “Is this your first or second shot?” and “Do you have your card?” They were referring to the card that I was given after getting my first shot done. Now, if you didn’t have your card with you it didn’t seem like it was that big of a deal. The guy who walked in before me said he didn’t have his, and they just told him that it just means he’s going to have two vaccine cards. The one thing I did not have to show that I showed the first time was the QR code. 

After walking past these first several people outside, I went inside and spoke to a lady sitting at the desk. She went over all of the same questions that I was asked when I got the first shot about my reactions to anaphylaxis and whether I’ve had any symptoms of COVID in the past 24 hours. After that, I walked to the “line” to be seen by a nurse administering the vaccine. For the first shot, I had to wait in line for a couple minutes, but the line moved very quickly. This time, there was no line, I walked right up front and got my shot and was able to leave. I got my shot done on my right arm this time, but I think that was more so just the side of the nurse that I was sitting on. Once I got the shot, they added it to my card, and I was able to go back to my car. Again, I had to sit in my car and self-monitor for symptoms for 15 minutes before leaving. Like last time, I had no reaction and left without any problems. The only symptom I had, yet again, was just a lot of muscle soreness in my arm. 

My experience was pretty easy-breezy. I didn’t have any issues, but again this is just my experience, everyone will be different. I know that there has been a lot of discussion in the PKU community about whether the vaccine has protein in it, and about if those of you on Palynziq should get the vaccine if you’ve had a reaction to Palynziq before. I’m not a qualified doctor, so I am not giving you guys any advice, but talk to your doctors about what is best for you. But I am also going to add a few links here that will maybe give you some more information:

• CDC on allergic reactions (PEG is what I believe is used in Palynziq, so do your research)

• NPKUA statement about protein in the vaccine

Stay safe, stay healthy! And get vaccinated if you are able to!