Love, Life and Appreciation

My CDC Vaccination Card, which must be carried everywhere.

I was able to have the opportunity from my job. I work for a mental health system and I am a report writer/data analyst. Overall I am in the IT/Healthcare sector. The Covid vaccines are such a Godsend from the terrible coronavirus that took over the world. I wrote about the start of the coronavirus in previous entries. The virus is still out there and caused so much destruction and sorrow. 

The vaccines so, so many prayed and asked for, are a sure sign that this terrible virus can get more under control. Well, the speed of the vaccines and I do say vaccines because at the current moment there are at least 3 (Moderna, Pfizer, and Oxford/AstraZeneca) that have been authorized for emergency use. The first vaccine in the US was administered in NY on December 14th. I remember watching Sandra Lindsay receive the vaccine and though I was happy, I still had so many questions. These vaccines ARE the fastest developed vaccines of modern time. The mumps vaccine was the quickest before these and that development took 4 years. 

With the vaccines being developed so quickly and they are still in clinical trials. The effectiveness is above 93% for all of them. Still, it took reaching and seeing others get the vaccine and hearing their stories to get more assurance to get the vaccine. I received a survey from my work in the days before the Christmas holiday asking interest in getting the vaccine when it became available for the organization. We have staff that works directly with clients and the CDC stated that frontline workers and healthcare workers would be the first to get the vaccines. The survey was completely voluntary and getting the vaccines as it stands now is not mandatory. On the survey, I answered as unsure. I really wish the children could be the first to get the vaccine but they haven't been tested in children under the age of 16. This can all change in the effort to vaccine all willing people. Of course unfortunately there will be those that are allergic or just don't want to get the vaccine. I am thinking though to fight this virus, those that don't are going to have to get some form of it. 

I got about 2 more survey reminders before my supervisor sent an email that the walk-in clinic at the main location in Towson, MD, had times during the New Year holiday and a few days after. I watched more and more videos about the vaccine and thankfully non of the family has contracted this virus but I knew this is something that had to be done and I was so thankful too that my place of work was offering one of these vaccines. I really hope one day soon Rex and other construction workers and public workers can get the vaccine, very, very soon. I then decided to get the vaccine and on January 2, 202, the family and I went to the Towson campus. I had Rex drive me because I wasn't sure about how I would feel after receiving the vaccine. Some people have had allergic reactions and a few needing hospitalizations.  Like I said in the beginning, the vaccines are currently in clinical trials and they are very, very new. 

I'll admit I was nervous, but the staff was so welcoming and helpful with questions and registering. All the data gets sent to the state and the CDC. I didn't wait very long, it was 8:30 something in the morning. I really just wanted to get in and out. I came at a good time because as I sat filling out the registering more people come in. That was a good sign too. Shortly after filling out the document, I was called back. I wore a short-sleeve shirt to make it easier to get to my forearm. I had a winter coat on though, it wasn't too cold that day but hey the cold and flu are still out there too. We all got our flu shots in October of last year. 

Administering the vaccine only took a few seconds. I saw the shot there and I was talking to one of the staff and the other nurse said "Relax" which I did and then inserted the shot. I didn't even feel it. Afterward, I said "Thank you", was told I needed to wait in the waiting area for 15 minutes before I could go on my way. That was to see if there were any immediate side effects and some depending on health conditions needed to stay for 30 minutes or longer. I easily put on my coat and waited in the area. I felt no pain or soreness at the injection site and I was told before I left that I might have soreness later in the day and the following day. 

After my time was up, I walked back to the car and we all went home. I didn't start to feel soreness at the injection site until almost 6 hours after receiving the shot. I got the Moderna vaccine by the way. I never took pain medicine but it was noticeable and I still made sure I moved my arm and used it. The soreness went away about 3 or 4 hours after that and I felt slightly tired but that could have also been because I spent all of New Year's Eve up and celebrating a New Year and kicking 2020 to the curb. I actual slept on my arm, which is my left arm where I got the vaccine during the night for the first 4 hours. It was hurting in my forearm and still, I took no meds. I changed positions and my arm felt much better in the morning. That morning January 3, my arm felt slightly sore but really felt sore when touched. Throughout the day the pain went in and out and by the end of the day, my arm was feeling better. I also felt a little itching on my legs and where the injection was. I went to sleep a little earlier yesterday too and I DID NOT sleep on my arm. 

Cut to today, Day 2. Some 48+ hours since receiving the first dose of the Moderna vaccine. I feel great! No fever or dizziness. No rash or swelling and no pain at the injection site. I almost feel just like I did before getting the shot. I know my body is creating antibodies and I am thankful to those who developed the vaccines and those that tested them before. In a way, this phase is still a test and one-day virus will under control, and the vaccine even might be one dose. I go back for my second dose later this month. It's one step in protecting others and myself. One day corona will just be another virus in the history books and hopefully, no more lives will be lost from this terrible, terrible virus. I really didn't know when I'd receive the vaccine. I thought maybe sometime in the Spring. Every public building that is entered requires a mask and I had a mask on when I received the vaccine. 

Back at home, I did it!

Good riddance 2020, that is what the world has pretty much said. The Coronavirus pandemic is still in existence and so, so many lives have been lost and changed. We have known coworkers and family members to have gotten the virus and thankfully they have recovered. The last time I wrote on this was Mother's Day and that was back in May. That was the start of the pandemic and changes including cancelling trips, closing schools and many businesses. 

At the time the children we still going to the at-home daycare and I was still able to go to the office and I left during lunchtime to pick up May for her less than 2 hour class for 1st grade in the afternoon. Rex, my parents and many of our friends have been very fortunate to have not lost our place of work and we have been able to continue with pay during this time. Other businesses closed and workers lost jobs, the economy did crash and the community came together to help those in need. Rex found at his work that some of the material was held up or delayed in shipment. Packages were delayed, almost everything was shut down. 

Fast forward to September 2020, the kids started complete virtual school, May in second grade and Nia in Kindergarten. 

I am so thankful that my job allows for working from home and I worked a full-time job with two children in full-time school. There were assignments too and I will say that time was very hard at work due to two major projects with very short deadlines. I couldn't say too much though because I am still thankful for having a job and that I could stay and help my children. Rex was still able to go to work too and every day at his job he needed to get his temperature checked and wear a mask. We still wear a mask wherever we go. We tried to play more in the backyard too and have the kids be more active with games outside. It's hard though because they really are missing the interaction with other children. They might be going back to school in person in the Spring of this year.

We also tried for getting buying a home in 2020. We have been saving for the last 4 years and we knew we didn't want to stay in the area we live in now for more years. The kids are getting bigger and the townhouse is so small. The walls have been paper-thin since the day we moved here and the area is also getting worse. We tried in May of 2020 and we got approved for a lower amount then. It's crazy to think to purchase a home in the middle of a pandemic and with the amount we got approved for it was very hard to find a home that didn't need major repairs or was an auction or another unlying issue, had a termite problem. We also just wanted to get an idea of the process and that pre-approval was just with my income and information. I was thankful but I knew and the realtor knew that home prices in the area we were looking to purchase a home were much higher. The low rates of today are nice but we had to let that pre-approval expire. We couldn't find anything in the 3 months it was active and we did try. We actually applied for another pre-approval just recently with both of us, just to check and see and we got pre-approved for more. We actually found a home in December of 2020 and currently, we are pending. That's the start of the new chapter which I'll write more about in another post. We are very excited!

Other good news, in November 2020 the American people cast their vote, and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be the new president and vice-president. So exciting and such a breath of fresh air. Kamala will be the first female vice-president and she is a fellow Howard alumna! Such a welcomed new chapter indeed and even though Trump has tried to overturn the result, the people have spoken, it's not voter fraud it's people wanting a change.