I figured I'd share my long winded and very positive experience getting the AstraZeneca vaccine this week, in hopes that encourages others to go out and get the shot. The booking procedure aside, getting the shot was super smooth and pleasant. I got my shot at a local Sobeys. /1

I showed up about 10 minutes before my appointment and was impressed with how empty the store was. They clearly had a plan in place for everything, down to having one jar for disinfected pens, and another jar for you to leave your pen after using it.
/2

We know fomite transmission is not a major concern with COVID, but they still went above and beyond with the disinfecting. Wiped down the chair before and after I used it. The pharmacist asked me a few basic questions and then I was given a relatively painless shot. /3

I've had flu shots that I didn't even notice go into my arm. This one wasn't quite like that, but it was fine. I did my mandatory 15 minutes of recovery, answered a few more questions, and then I was on my way home. Felt totally fine for the next 8 hours or so. /4

The side effects did start to hit me before bed. I started to experience chills, a slight fever, and a headache. Nothing awful, but no fun either. The pharmacist and few doctor friends/family had told me not to take Advil unless the symptoms became awful. /5

The idea here is that these symptoms are caused by your immune responding to the vaccine, so you don't want to do anything to slow it down. As such I just went to bed. Woke up in the morning feeling worse, but again, not awful. Main thing was that I was super tired. /6

Luckily I now work for a great company who really cares about their employees, so after taking a few meetings, I was able to hop back into bed and get some good rest. Spent the evening lounging and watching the Jays. Wasn't feeling great, but was fine. /7

Woke up this morning, about 44 hours after the injection and was 100% totally fine. Way quicker of a recovery than I expected. Overall, I'm super thankful to be partially vaccinated, and can't wait to get my next shot 16 weeks from now! /8

In hindsight this thread is actually really boring and not very informative, but hopefully someone found it useful. /fin