Are you feeling safer after COVID jab?

[panther50]

I’m 3 weeks on from my first COVID jab-hooray! I just wondered how others who’ve had theirs (maybe the second too) were feeling now? I don’t mean side effects, I mean do you feel any safer? Do you feel like it has significantly reduced your risk of becoming very ill from COVID? Do you feel less afraid (if you felt scared before)? I was surprised to find I do feel a little more relaxed. Im still doing everything you should, face, space, hands & realise I still need my second- Not asking about that, but as we start to move out of this do you think you’ll feel able to worry less e.g about post, disinfecting shopping, people in the house. I am an anxious person anyway, but would like to be less OCD over these things in the future. There will always be the risk of new variants, but if the risk becomes minuscule....

Anyway just got me thinking as it was my 3 week anniversary! I keep wondering 🤔 can I relax a bit? The emotional side of being constantly anxious/on alert for over a year now is really taking its toll.🙁 I think it’s been worse for those at greater risk/health conditions.

BTW I realise there are many who’ve lost loved ones, been very very ill or been on frontline and year of anxiety is v insignificant by comparison.

[PMRpro]

It has already been said that post and shopping are very unlikely to spread Covid - I haven't bothered about either since last summer when they first said that.

nature.com/articles/d41586-...

I've had jab 1 and get no 2 a week tomorrow but that won't change my behaviour at all, not least because lockdown here in Italy extends to the end of April. I, and my husband who is far more vulnerable than me, have been shopping/to the hospital/for a drink outside since last summer at the end of the first lockdown. But I always have a mask on and keep well away from people even outside. I won't be using public transport or going shopping until the infection numbers are really low. We aren't allowed visitors yet - but I did have workmen in last autumn: doors all open and they were outside on the balcony anyway.

I'd say 2 weeks post No 2 you will be able to relax a bit because you are unlikely to become very ill if you were to catch it. But I also don't think that life is going to be back to pre-Covid safety levels for a long time yet - especially for us. I want to know the numbers for developing immunity for patients with a/i disease. Then I will have a better idea of my own safety.

[panther50 in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks for that. It was an interesting read. I’ve found it frustrating throughout this the lack of research & info on surfaces- good to see something in depth about it. For me it’s the thing that actually causes most anxiety & inconvenience. It’s frustrating that they can’t rule it out altogether. It’s important to wash your hands (hygienic anyway) but in terms of COVID that can only be about surface contamination & then touching your face as no one's going to sneeze on your hand at the moment. The fact this may have come from Nora virus which does spread that way is interesting. Then it becomes about risk and what’s in your control. If I could do something to eliminate even this small risk I did it, but that’s where I can see it tipping into OCD.🙄 which I didn’t have before. Not sure if it’s going to far or sensible.

[Leenie0811]

I had my first one a couple of weeks ago and felt quite emotional as I feel now we have some kind of hope. Like you I’m still keeping safe and haven’t really changed much of my habits I’ve adapted in lockdown still super cautious and get anxious when so many people are in a shop or not respecting space but we have that hope now that more are being vaccinated and hopefully this means less transmission of this terrible virus. Second vaccine is in may so a little wait but I’ll be making sure I’ve a few days to recover as the last one completely floored me for at least 3 days! I wasn’t fully okay until like over a week later x

[panther50 in reply to Leenie0811]

Yes I worry when I occasionally go in local shop and people are too close or not wearing masks 😱 but now I’ve had at least my first jab, I try to rationalise- it’s only for a few seconds too close and now I am also a bit protected i.e. v unlikely to catch it🙂. Maybe I should start thinking of shopping and post in same way. I can’t imagine being in a restaurant or cafe (not been for a year). I worry about cutlery, plates being touched by others. It’s weird people have had such different experiences, some of my friends work in schools so have had no choice but to be round people. I understand how people become germ phobic now.

[Leenie0811 in reply to panther50]

Yeah it’s going to be a massive adjustment to what was normal I quite like my own company now and can’t deal with too much noise so when it all goes back to noise doubt I’ll cope and I’m with you on the germs I was already conscious before the pandemic now I’m quite bad and it’ll stay like that I think 🤦🏼‍♀️

[Hidden in reply to Leenie0811]

It’s 10 days since my first jab and I’m still exhausted, I don’t understand it!

[Leenie0811 in reply to Hidden]

Oh I feel you there it’s awful isn’t it? Sending hugs to you lovely and hope you manage to get some relief soon! Xx

[svfarmer]

Hi yes I do feel abit safer now after having my vaccine about 6 weeks ago - I feel more relaxed about everything now although saying that I’m still really careful about where I go etc but then luckily I’ve never been a particularly anxious person, my mum never was before Covid but it’s been horrible seeing her feeling really anxious but saying that she too feels less anxiety now she has had vaccine x

[miccika1]

I feel more relaxed. I didn't wear a mask when visiting two of my friends that also got vaccinated, otherwise i wear mask everywhere else. I also saw my coworkers two of them half vaccinated and felt great hugging them. I did want to make sure i developed antibodies and after the Igg test seeing a huge number of antibodies made me more relaxed knowing a whole army is there to kill covid in case im exposed. If i didnt see the number of Iggs i would still be stressed i think.

[panther50 in reply to miccika1]

Hi that’s really good to hear. That gives us all hope of hugs 🤗

[Largather in reply to miccika1]

Hi, pleased you are feeling more reassured. But the gov guidelines are clear about not relaxing any of the personal distancing, mask wearing, hand washing, hygene ect. No one can say yet how much ,if any, protection the vaccine has against catching ir spreading. New evidence is coming out all the time good and bad. Be very careful please for your own safety and others. Until we have more info we must continue as we are. We cannot afford another increase and lockdown. Xxx

[miccika1 in reply to Largather]

Im from the USA. Our guidelines are that we can meet with other fully vaccinated people without masks.

[Largather in reply to miccika1]

Hi, didnt know you where in the USA. Sorry.We have had it so bad in the UK that our rules are tight.

Enjoy your freedom!

[panther50 in reply to miccika1]

Oh that makes sense. I’d read that’s what they’d said in USA after second vaccine. It was interesting to read as it was first suggestion of what life might be like. We’ll have to wait and see over here. With third wave in Europe mutations are still a big concern.

[miccika1 in reply to panther50]

Yup panther50 i just realized it must be strange to wait 12 weeks for another shot, you dont know if you are or aren't protected. Makes sense on society level but not so reassuring on individual level

[WinterSwimmer]

I feel much better since I hd my first jab. Maybe I am too casual but I feel relaxed enough to have an outdoor, distanced social life - which is amazing after a year of extreme anxiety and long-distance communication (I live alone). I have swum outdoors through all the lockdowns - and now I feel comfortable enough to sit and chat with friends by the water afterwards. This makes a huge difference to my life. Other things are the same - I still avoid shops as much as possible, and haven't been anywhere beyond a very small circle of travel (home to sea and back) for a very long time. I will continue to mask and sanitise religiously. But I have my second jab tomorrow evening - Yay! and am hoping for something very like normality soon.

[panther50 in reply to WinterSwimmer]

Hi thanks. It helps me to get a bit of perspective hearing your replies. For me this isn’t all about lupus, it’s partly about having anxiety. It’s good to hear others with lupus but who maybe aren’t so anxious generally.🙂

[panther50]

Thanks Sammisix. I was going further than surfaces-any shopping that comes in is sprayed or quarantined. Post I remove envelopes. On the 3 occasions we did see people I was anxious about things like crisp packets, glasses, cutlery touched by others. “Going too far” ?

[Roarah]

I am in the US where, unless you had the Jansen one and done, you are not considered safe until fully vaccinated two weeks after your second jab. Studies on both moderna and Pfizer show that immunity is improved roughly fifty percent two weeks after the first dose but by the fifth week they are almost back to preshot baselines( not protective anymore) This is why the second shot is specifically meant to be between 21 days for Pfizer and 28days for moderna with not more than six weeks in between.

Until your second jab assume you still need masks please. Many people become infected between their two jabs statistics are showing this.

The stats on AstraZeneca may be different but the company has many transparency issues and advisory councils are still scrutinizing their data and have not approved it here.

[panther50]

Hmm that’s interesting. Made me look into it a bit more. I wasn’t aware of that with Moderna & Pzier (though I knew they weren’t approved for 12 week gap). Just read this in Lancet- AstraZeneca is 76% effective from day 22 to day 90 and this protection level was maintained. Although it was 0% effective against non symptomatic transmission-explains need for precautions. As for transparency issues- that is certainly controversial over here.🙄

I’m not suggesting not wearing masks, washing hands maintaining distance. I was just interested emotionally how people felt after having it compared to before.

[miccika1]

In the US we get second vaccines as recommended by pharma companies that made them, so 3 or 4 weeks apart depending on the shot. So yes it doesnt make any sense for folks in the UK to relax anything until they get fully vaccinated.

[panther50 in reply to miccika1]

It seems to all stem from AZ one being so different. 76% to 82% isn’t that big a jump up and the trials suggest it maintained 76% throughout the 3 months so offering a fair amount of protection. It was created in a different way to the others. It will be interesting to see if the US approve it and what comes out. Over here it seemed to become very tied up with Europe and the politics of us leaving (from both sides). Europe did approve in the end. It can be hard to know who to believe.

[KayHimm]

panther50 -

Yes! And yes!! There is just no question that we are safer after being fully vaccinated. A report just came out today on American healthcare workers who were the first group to get the vaccine. The news was very positive.

Politics can play a role as well as public relations. I think the US did a poor job of describing the vaccine benefits. We were kind of being told to “get the vaccine but don’t leave your house.” 😅 They seem to have realized that was too cautious and made people wonder what the point was. So we are getting clearer guidelines now. As an example, fully vaccinated people can get together without masks. That is liberating. I am meeting a friend for lunch - sunny day so we can be outside. I am sitting outside of a coffee bar, enjoy the spring weather.

We are supposed to continue to wear masks in public, wash hands and stay six feet apart. Fine with me. The college students on spring break going maskless in bars is a problem. 😫

Stay protected these next three weeks. I would be surprised if you don’t feel much safer after your vaccine.

Here’s to 🇺🇸 and 🇬🇧 for developing amazingly effective vaccines in an astoundingly short time!

Let us know how you do with your vaccine.

XK