A couple of weeks ago I received my second dose of the Moderna vaccine and I patiently waited my two weeks to be fully vaccinated from COVID. After being vaccinated, I went to a few bars and saw some friends after being socially distant for over a year. It finally felt good to have some relief from the constant anxiety surrounding my everyday life under COVID. I felt as if life was finally going to continue getting back on track.
It wasn’t until a couple of days ago that I started experiencing cold symptoms like a sore throat, congestion/runny nose, and extreme fatigue. I didn’t really think much of it, as most of my vaccinated friends were experiencing similar symptoms. We all thought it was allergies or a cold from being around more and more people. My symptoms quickly developed into severe sinus pain and a headache. I decided to go to the doctor thinking that I had a sinus infection. They decided to do a COVID test to be sure, and the test turned out to be positive.
An instant state of shock filled my body. How was this even possible? How am I in the 5% of the vaccinated population to get COVID? I began my contact tracing by telling everyone I was in contact with that I had COVID. The weird part is that everyone around me with similar symptoms had negative test results. I attempted to get a second test to make sure and was denied to protect the test takers. I found myself extremely anxious more than anything, as I worried about possibly getting another person sick. I felt more and more relief as all of my friends came back with negative results.
As I sit in quarantine, I am extremely angered by the U.S.’s reaction to COVID, as most Americans are. I cannot fathom going back to complete normalcy, unmasked, while some Americans still remain unvaccinated. My other sense of anger comes from fate, I did everything I could to protect myself and still failed. Meanwhile, I know individuals who have partied unmasked and have remained healthy.
While I have unsettled emotions, I am grateful to have received the vaccine in the first place. My symptoms are already clearing up and I was lucky to only experience mild symptoms compared to others. If you have the chance to get vaccinated, please do, but, remember that we still need to do our part for the greater community.