Covid-19 vaccination experiences

A Times article on the relationship between Long Covid and vaccination, which seems to suggest that though the chances of Long Covid are lowered by being vaccinated, Long Covid is still occurring at significant levels in people who have been vaccinated. However I have not read the full article because it was behind a paywall.

Jabs ‘have not broken link’ with long Covid
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/...tG5MeYCf-jw4vzgSk8B39V-wdgHOCtW2k2oTMgsB9Nqns

 

I was quite shocked when I had a brief chat with our postlady ( who at the outset of the pandemic was very concerned about her colleagues not adhering to social distancing, mask wearing etc) who seems to have been convinced by the 'party line'; that everyone who have had their 2 jabs are 'immune' and that what we now need is for all the children to get covid and hence immunity...... she likened it to mumps. She ended the conversation with 'I just want my freedom back'. I didn't even attempt a response.

 

It’s sickening how many times I’ve heard that phrase recently.

 

I know it's very late in the day, but I thought it might be helpful if people said what kind of ME they have, if they know or suspect what kind it is. I'm particularly interested in whether it's the auto-immune kind, the kind where they don't seem to catch anything, or whether they do seem to catch a lot of infections.

I know it can be hard, especially early in the illness, to tell whether their symptoms are due to infections or due to exertion.

I'm fairly sure that my own illness - 26 years long so far - is auto-immune. In the first few years I seemed to get quite a lot of infections, but in the last 20 or so I don't seem to catch anything. I did become more ill than usual, with unusual symptoms, a couple of times recently in spring 2020 and this year, and developed 'Covid toe' those times, and the toe is still slightly discoloured. So I'm reluctant to have the vaccine in case it makes me worse.

Hope that makes sense.

 

Freedom is having the physical ability to put on a mask by yourself.

Sadly, many of the people demanding freedom will get longcovid and some may well spend the next decades with the restrictions of ill health.

 

I have been juxtaposing on social media that the so called ‘Freedom Day’, the 19th of July, when the UK drops most of the remaining pandemic restrictions, will be for me ‘back to not going out day’.

This is partly for selfish reasons given there is still a small but finite risk of me catching Covid-19 and potentially endangering my health long term despite being vaccinated, this risk is greater with the Delta variant, the incidence of which here in the UK is currently doubling every fortnight. But also I strongly disagree with the decision to abandon directed mask wearing and social distancing, and am deeply concerned by the growing risks of Long Covid facing young adults and children. I can not change what will happen single handedly but I can ensure I do not contribute to the problem by not adding to reduced social distancing and by avoiding becoming a potential vector for the spread of the virus.

 

I'm the kind who rarely catches anything, but then I always was before I had ME. On the rare occasions when I do get something, it usually floors me. My reaction to two jabs of biontech pfizer was uneventful, apart from the side of my face going numb after the second jab, detailed in my post above.

 

Ditto.

Very seldom catching anything, but if, it will take longer time to recover than what’s expected “normal”.

 

Exactly what I’m thinking! There’s no way of knowing, but it sure raises a lot of questions.

Edited to say that I suspect autoimmune issues in my case since it runs in my family. I usually get unwell from viruses and it can take a couple of weeks before I return to baseline.

 

I don't think I'll have the vaccination until I can successfully take a proper COVID antibody blood test. Being on the testing programme, I was about to try to sample my blood the time before last, when the person visiting me stopped me, saying that she didn't have the proper paperwork.

Last time I tried again, the person having the go-ahead, but I couldn't get enough blood out.

So next attempt will be in about a month...

If I finally succeed, I'll check whether I should still have a vaccination. I assume the test will be positive, but who knows?

 

The left side of my face went numb, too, first Pfizer jab. I had a 30 minute episode (facial numbness on left side, tinnitus increase, half my left side visual field with zigs and zags and light bursts).

I described the symptoms to my opthamologist (who may be smarter than my primary care doc) and he said: it was a vasospasm resulting in migraine-like symptoms.

I've never had a migraine. Didn't know it could result in temporary paralysis, tinnitus, as well as the known zigzaggy visual disturbances.

Second jab was tame, just tiredness.

 

I'd be very interested to know why you got everything on the left side ...

 

And I've just signed a petition calling for mask-wearing to remain compulsory on public transport ...

 

Here in Bulgaria almost no one wants to get vaccinated (at present only 10% of the people are). So luckily for the rest of us there is a big choice of vaccines - astra zeneca, pfizer and moderna. I got vaccinated with Pfizer and haven't had any significant problems. Only sore arm after the first dose, and slight flu like (unlike my regular hangover like) fatigue after the second. And these were only for the day of the vaccination.

 

Sounds rather like scintillating scotoma, which I get occasionally. It usually lasts 15 minutes, but last time it lasted about one and a half days!

There's info on Phoenix Rising about it, for example Does anyone else have visual distortions? | Phoenix Rising ME/CFS Forums

 

Both nurses who came to give me my Pfizer got migraines after their Pfizer jab.

 

Migraines are often one sided. I was surprised when the doctor explained that to my husband.

 

I have ME between moderate and severe (for 12 years) and I am clearly the type who does not catch a cold.

Dose 1 (Pfizer): Muscle pain in the arm and at the injection site, 24 hours.

Dose 2 (Pfizer): intense arm pain, swelling and pain at the injection site, my chronic general pain increased to the point of acute! (like a crash), 4 days.

Fortunately, I am now in my "normal" level of ME.