Covid vaccine: second dose malaise

Self-tutoring about the Covid vaccine: the tutor mentions his experience.

I was late to the party getting vaccinated, but eventually did, back in October. Before I knew it, the time for my second dose arrived: I went in on Saturday.

I didn’t have any side effects from the first dose except soreness at the injection site. However, I’d heard warnings that the second dose is observed to produce more pronounced side effects in many people — though typically not at first. I got through the rest of the day with no apparent effects except, once again, tenderness at the injection site.

In the middle of that night, I woke up with chills: I felt like I had a full-blown flu. I took one ibuprofen, and in about an hour, felt much better.

The next day, I took an ibuprofen every six hours. It kept the chills away, but I was still lethargic. I lay on the couch the whole day. I took one last ibuprofen before bed.

Today, I feel normal: my energy is back. That’s the story of my “one-day flu” at the heels of my second Covid dose.