Posted on by Brendan Birth

Coronavirus Update From New York City: April 1, 2021

Me after I got my first vaccine shot. This is not the best photo of me in the world, but in my defense, it was misty and windy, plus my glasses were fogged up.

Like with last week’s COVID Diary blog post, I have some big news to share!

The big news this week is that I have received my first COVID vaccine shot.

Literally the morning after I published my previous COVID update post, I was able to secure an appointment to receive my first shot of the Moderna vaccine. That appointment happened last Sunday.

Side effects were overall relatively minimal. My arm felt rather sore last Sunday evening and Sunday night, and felt a little sore last Monday. All that being said, the side effects of the first Moderna shot don’t seem any worse than side effects from many flu shots I’ve had over the years. That being said, I’ve heard that side effects from the second Moderna shot can sometimes leave someone feeling sick for a couple of days. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it though (a bridge I’ll get to on Sunday, April 25th, when I’m scheduled for my second vaccine shot).

Speaking of vaccines, vaccine eligibility is rapidly expanding in New York, to the point that everyone sixteen and older should be eligible for COVID vaccines by next week. Even if I weren’t obese, I’d be becoming eligible soon anyway. However, since I am obese, I was able to get the vaccine at least a couple of weeks before when I would have otherwise received it.

My younger brother is no longer in quarantine at college. He reported to me that the quarantine experience was not as bad as he had feared (I think he was expecting to be completely stuck in his room for a week). More importantly, though, he remains healthy.

The news in my neighborhood, on the other hand, is not quite as good. The test positivity rate is is up above 10% again, to 10.2%. Test positivity seem to have been see-sawing around 10% for the past few weeks–sometimes just above that mark, sometimes just below that mark.

In terms of my travel plans for Easter…I have none. I’m not fully vaccinated, and even if I were fully vaccinated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States is still recommending against domestic and international travel. I figure that the CDC has taken me this far without getting COVID (or at least COVID symptoms), so I’m not going to stop following their advice now.

That’s my update for this week. I hope others are well and safe, and I wish my readers a Happy Easter, or Passover, or whatever holiday you choose to celebrate!

17 Replies to “Coronavirus Update From New York City: April 1, 2021”

  3. That’s great news about getting your first shot Brendan. My husband and I both received our first Pfizer vaccines today and we’ll be getting our second ones in 3 weeks. He hasn’t had any side effects at all. I have a very small rash around the injection site and some muscle pain in my upper arm, which is pretty much the exact same reaction I get with every vaccine I receive. That’s bad news about the numbers going up. They’re increasing here in AL as well. On April 9, the mask mandate and all remaining restrictions are being lifted so I expect it will be even worse.

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    1. I’m glad you and your husband got your first shots. I’m less glad that Alabama seems to be lifting these restrictions too soon in all likelihood. I hear the second dose reactions can be more serious though, with both the Pfizer and the Moderna.

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  4. Congrats on getting your vaccination, Brendan. But you are right, keep to the protocol for masking and social distancing and stay close. This virus is going nowhere; it’s just waiting for its next opportunity to find a host. Or better still (from its perspective), mutate and find a host. Vaccine or not, stay safe.

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  5. Okay, Brendan, so make me feel like a wimp. LOL! After my first Moderna shot, I slept long and hard with a sore throat off and on. It was over the following morning. The nurse said that the second shot might produce a fever, but unless it gets over 101 not to worry. My second shot is 4/15. My son got the Johnson & Johnson — one shot and done. He was sick with chills and a headache for about 24 hours.

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  6. Happy Spring, I think we can all celebrate that. I am waiting for my second shot. My husband and my son’s fiance had tough reactions for about 36 hours after their second as did a friend of mine. I got the Pfizer one and there are some that say the reactions are a little different. I am truly thankful that there are scientists in this world that come up with these meds.

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