I spoke too soon in my last post about not having any side-effects after the second Pfizer jab. A few hours later I developed a fever, headache, aches and pains, and a swollen lymph node in my armpit on the vaccinated arm. After the first dose it felt like I had a marble under my arm. This time it felt like a golf ball. It took about 24 hours before I felt like my old self again and I’m almost back to 100% now except for the slightly tender arm.
We are planning a summer holiday and are terrified we’ll have to cancel it again like the previous three holidays over the past year so we’re going into hermit mode now. It doesn’t look like restrictions will be reintroduced but what is more likely is having to self-isolate because one of us is a close contact of someone who tested positive. With 30,000 cases a day in the UK and the number rising this is becoming a big problem. People may not be getting sick or seriously ill but having to self-isolate for 10 days is creating problems for businesses needing staff. We’ve decided to go into our own self-imposed lockdown of sorts for a couple of weeks before we go away.
Fortunately there’s very little anti-vaccine sentiment in the UK but it’s still here in small pockets and the past few days I’ve seen some of it on social media. What is quite astonishing is these people are benefitting greatly from the fact the vast majority of us have had the jab. Had we not all stepped up then we’d be going into a strict lockdown right now.
Every drug has side-effects and carries a small risk. If we ignore the risk of covid just for a second, people who have the vaccine are taking a small risk that benefits everyone. These benefits are herd immunity and lifting of restrictions. People who choose not to have the vaccine get all of these benefits without any of the risk. In my view, unless you have a medical reason not to have the vaccine, it’s unethical to expect everyone else to take that risk on your behalf.
rachel.blog 
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