@Beacher , that’s fantastic! Thanks for the update. Is your second dose scheduled for 12 weeks out like the Health Canada site says?
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At the moment Ontario is saying second shots of all three vaccines, for all ages, will be at 16 weeks, based on the NACI decision (or reversal). The object is to give more people at least their first shot sooner. As the vaccine supply increases, that interval may shorten. My second appointment isn’t booked yet. Apparently the Ministry of Health will be in touch when the time nears.
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Here in Alberta, many of my friends have received AstraZeneca dose 1. Albertans 50-64 were eligible to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine early, given the short expiry date of the lots we purchased from India.
None of them have reported anything other than a sore arm and / or headache. Like @Beacher in ON, 2nd dose is tentatively scheduled for 16 weeks, they will contact closer to vaccination date.
I’m waiting for more mRNA which will be available in April for those of us with multiple chronic health conditions.
Alberta vaccinated 21,000 people yesterday; 7% of our population have had their 1st shot.
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Yes, I had my first shot of AstraZenica on Tuesday and had virtually nothing to speak about other than a very mild pain in my arm muscle for a few hours - that was it. I’m type 1 (35+ years) and it didn’t affect my bg levels either!
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So an update on my post-Moderna vaccination inflammatory arthritis situation–not a lot has changed yet. It has been a month of hydroxychloroquine/Plaquenil with no noticeable effects on my symptoms (if anything, they have gotten a little worse). Apparently it can take 1-3 months to work, so my rheum wants me to stay on it for now, though he says usually when people see benefits they can see some effect by now. He is willing to add methotrexate, but it’s definitely a more aggressive medication (originally a chemo med, now used in rheumatology to suppress immune system in autoimmune disorders), so I’m still debating whether I want to take that step.
Also of note, there are now three cases in his dept like mine. My mom also told me about a woman in her temple whose previously fairly inactive rheumatoid arthritis flared up following one of the mRNA vaccines. So it seems to be a thing for a small minority of folks likely with vulnerability to rheumatological autoimmune disorders, but as my rheum said, the data is just coming in now, so won’t know the full picture for a number of months.
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Thanks for the update, @cardamom. I was hoping you had better news though and that you were feeling better being on the Plaquenil. Hugs to you 
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I’m sorry to hear you’re not feeling much better, @cardamom ! Here’s hoping it will just take a bit more time for the medication to really kick in. That’s a little concerning hearing that the mRNA vaccines may set off rheumatological autoimmune conditions in those predisposed to them. I’m definitely in that risk category.
Today I went to get my vaccine but they wouldn’t administer the dose due to my allergy history. It would have been Moderna, if I’d gotten it. Can’t say I’m not disappointed, as cases here are skyrocketing exponentially due to the variants, and things feel pretty scary right now. Hopefully I can sort things out fairly quickly so I can get another appointment in the near future.
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I have my second moderna scheduled hours before I get on an 8 or so hour series of planes and airports on the 14th. I didn’t have any problem after the first except for a mild sore arm very similar to what I always get from flu shot. Have had a number of coworkers, and my mom, completely get their butts kicked by the second moderna… while my dad and 101yo grandma didn’t bat an eye… Would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little worried about having side effects while flying… a lot of people don’t appreciate the toll flying takes on your body with pressure changes and everything else… that’s why everyone arrives tired, jet lagged, and dehydrated
I’m considering trying to get an apt in wa state on my return home but it seems to be quite a zoo to get it done there and I already have an apt locked in w/ alaska… so I’m weighing it out…
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Our second (Moderna too) is April 29 but we’re delaying flying until +14 days. We had the sore arm too, much more so that any flu vaccines we’ve had recently but most likely we just got adjusted to those. It will be interesting to see what the second shot does.
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The word here in WA is lots of vaccines available in eastern WA. Seattle Times article today highlighted Yakima as having hundreds of doses available daily. I have heard from people who got their butts kicked pretty hard by the second Moderna dose.
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So in the past week, I’m finally starting to maybe knock on wood see a little improvement–hard to tell for sure. Not sure if it’s the plaquenil finally kicking in or it starting to improve on its own or both (and will likely never know which, if it is in fact improving). I imagine I will stay on the plaquenil for a while, and if I get back to symptom-free, try eventually weaning off. The intense increase in insulin sensitivity has somewhat worn off (which seems to be my experience with most oral meds that increase insulin sensitivity, except for metformin)–I’m still down a couple of units of Tresiba, but not nearly as much as initially.
My rheum consulted with other rheumatologists who have been doing a lot of work w COVID patients etc, and they seem to think there’s no reason to expect the J&J vaccine to be safer (i.e., they appear to think it may be related to COVID vaccines broadly vs specific to the mRNA vaccines, and potentially also COVID broadly, given that COVID infections have induced RA and other persistent rheumatologic type symptoms). Their advice is to have a 4 month gap at least between the two shots, but that taking the second one may be doable. We will make a decision closer to then (June). I’m fine with that, since right now, a single shot provides excellent protection in the short-term, and it seems possible that delaying the second shot may be advantageous on longevity front anyway. I will be pretty anxious if I do end up getting a second dose though. I expect to stay on the plaquenil at least through then.
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Thanks for the update on your experience, @cardamom. I’m so glad that you seem to be improving and indeed, hope you can begin to ween off the plaquenil after your 2nd dose of Moderna! Hugs to you
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@cardamom hope you feel better. Everyone is still learning a lot about these vaccines and rare side effects. I do hope you are able to take it eventually to get that extra level of protection, and that your side effects wind up being milder or nonexistent if you do. Either way, glad you got that first layer of protection.
And the rough part is that there are all these rare conditions where either there’s no way to tie it to the vaccine till millions have been vaccinated, or else, they may never be able to. Samson’s condition, autoimmune encephalitis, is so rare that if there are negative outcomes related to either the vaccines or COVID-19, we’ll likely never get enough data to unmask it. I also have a friend who got a temporary Bell’s palsy reaction after the shot; in clinical trials it’s clearly not increased in incidence in the vaccine group, so maybe it’s not a side effect of the vaccine in the population as a whole, but that doesn’t mean certain individuals might not have such side effects. She feels confident it’s related because she has the same reaction after any vaccine, including the flu shot.
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Wow, this is great news for you! They are actually spacing all shots out by four months here, so good news for me, too. That’s interesting that all COVID vaccines and COVID itself may carry the same risks for a certain population predisposed to those conditions. I may end up having to get the J&J or another vaccine (AstraZeneca is out since I’m under 55) if I can’t get the mRNA vaccines safely.
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Thanks all!
Yeah, as someone with “rare” diseases in the mix (though not as rare as Samson’s–I’m sure that’s tough on top of it being a complex and scary thing anyway), and then an even rarer intersection of conditions, I’ve learned that much as as a scientist I believe in evidence-based practice, there is rarely if ever any evidence directly applicable to me. So you can use what evidence seems closest and make best guesses, but like your friend’s example, your own personal history is at times the clearest guidance you have, especially when events repeat.
Good luck! I hope they sort it out for you soon. At least I guess if you get the J&J, then even if you do have an allergic reaction, as long as you are monitored and it’s managed ok (I’m guessing regardless, you’ll be in observation afterward for extra time?), then you wouldn’t have to deal with a second shot, which might be good.
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Their is plenty of availability but it’s mostly Pfizer from what I can see. I filled out the online appointment scheduler for the one place I know is supposedly doing moderna consistently near where I live and haven’t heard back at all… which reinforces I better just do it where I have an apt in ak. Did have two crew members simultaneously bedridden for 24-30 hours after their second moderna dose so that does make me nervous
Eta Actually I was just able to lock in a second moderna dose at a fred meyer near where I live on Friday.
So have two options now, 2:30 pm before a 6pm- midnight flight series on way home from alaska on Wednesday
Or Friday after I get there. Tough call
Do have an eye doc apt on Monday too so I guess that’s a consideration as well
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After a second Moderna dose I had a mildly sore shoulder and maybe a bit groggy for less than a day. My wife had 2 1/2 days of fever/chills; she routinely reacts harder to immunizations than I do. In any case the symptoms didn’t start to come on for either of us until 8-12 hours after the shot.
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Best laid plans backfire sometimes. Flights are delayed after second moderna. Will be spending all night in SeaTac (that’s the best case scenario). Oh well…
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I wanted to note here that I got the vaccine a couple of weeks ago. Had typical soreness, chills, lethargy, etc for 24-36 hours and then was fine. Oh - I also had some decent insulin resistance for a few days that then alleviated. But then 8 days after vaccination, a lymph node just in front of my left ear popped out and was sore and all this past week I had a notably tougher time with workouts than usual. My heart rate at perceived exertion was much lower than it usually is and it’s stayed that way (I’m now 12 days post 1st shot). (I ride a peloton bike and use a treadmill so am able to watch metrics pretty closely) It’s not like it’s difficult to breathe; it’s just more challenging to work out. I hope that goes away soon! (Probably just in time for shot #2 next week…)
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I had some amount of muscle soreness maybe 10 days out, but then I had started work on the deck; it had been in limbo (so to speak) because it was too cold to be enjoyable. For my part I was tempted to think it was the (Moderna) vaccine, yet it’s spring! I’m doing all kinds of crazy shyte that I wasn’t doing a month ago (apologies if you are in the antipodies; I’m in Oregon, you get your turn in 6 months 
So far I’ve not seen any issues but I’m somewhat insensitive; if you hit your thumb with a hammer often enough, as I do, that becomes the only source of pain. I’m hyper sensitized to bad experiences from the vaccine, but then I don’t have a scientific approach to measuring my reactions and I can’t see a way of getting one. I found I was visiting every bad thing to the vaccine, but then I started seeing flashes in my eyes this morning and the hypochondrite kicked in (eye doctor, Tuesday). Hum. That should be hyperchondrite; it’s really not in my stomach, it’s in my brain, or my eyes…
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