I got my second jab of the Sinovac on May 19 without much of a hitch, like what happened in my first jab. This time, though, my blood pressure acted up, but only a bit. And the doctor gave the go signal for the inoculation, with the warning that I should go to my doctor if my blood pressure does not normalize.
The health scare came the next day. Because I felt well, I did not rest and instead did some errands, including walking under the heat of the sun to get a replacement for our leaking faucet. Late that day, I soon felt fatigued and my muscles ached. Then I noticed the inflammation of some of the lymph nodes in my head.
I tried to rest the next day but the feeling of tiredness refused to go away. I took a paracetamol tablet and slept after which I checked my BP. Since it was still high, my wife prodded me to go to my doctor. I did and asked her many questions, especially about the vaccination process. She recommended, for the short term, an additional medication for my BP. I took it that night.
At around 2 a.m., I woke up feeling my heart beating fast. Worried, I asked to be brought to the hospital. In the chapel where a wake was held for a neighbor, we found somebody who could drive us there. Because of Covid-19, the emergency section of the hospital examines patients outside of the door. I liked the open-air setting.
But I was eventually ushered inside where the beds, each walled with plastic were. My wife was initially not allowed to go in there, and when she waa allowed to enter, she was made to wear PPE. I went through a battery of tests until I was finally given medication, including the intravenous ones. Then I was left alone. Before my heartbeat normalized, I asked God if that was it.
I only posted cryptic messages on Facebook, worried that it would prod some of my friends to use it to spread the usual vaccine scare. I remembered the doctor who interviewed me after I got my first jab. He told me to campaign for vaccination using me as proof it has no adverse side effects. Then this thing happened.
I am now in my house recuperating. What I can do now is still very limited. Part of my face is still swollen a bit. But I won’t blame this recent episode on vaccination, because many things came into play. I am writing this not to make people lose faith in vaccination. I just want people to take the process seriously. That includes resting fully after getting a jab.
I know the government is finding it hard to speed up the vaccination process especially because the need for vaccines is enormous. Let us not add to the problem by promoting fear of vaccines. Vaccines underwent thorough testing before their use on humans was approved by regulators.
So I call on my fellow senior citizens to already have themselves vaccinated. The rest of the population are still waiting in line. Let us be thankful we are being prioritized. Even now, I am hoping my wife and my sons will finally get their jabs.