Local 4 anchor Rhonda Walker recently received her coronavirus vaccination -- here’s what she had to say:
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Being raised by my mother Harriette, a registered nurse, preventative care was always a high priority in my family.
She was strict with us on exercise and eating balanced, healthy meals. She even tricked us into thinking that Shake ‘n Bake chicken was fried chicken growing up. Those traditional fatty Sunday soul food dishes many families eat were only known as foods you eat on the holidays in my family.
So I have been trying to live a healthy lifestyle all my life, and I’m grateful I was raised that way. Sadly, there are many people who are not educated about health and wellness and preventative care, and only learn after being diagnosed with debilitating illnesses how their diseases could have been prevented.
Getting vaccinated is a safe way to prevent illness, period. And one of the worst illnesses I have ever seen in my lifetime -- that took the life of my uncle and many friends and acquaintances -- is the coronavirus.
I don’t want to catch it, and I don’t want more people to catch it, either. Our best defense beyond isolating, mask wearing, social distancing and great hygiene is to get vaccinated!
It’s a no brainer to me: get COVID-19 or get vaccinated against it. I would get the vaccine every time, with those options.
Is it safe?
I have done my thorough research and I am totally confident with the science behind the vaccine’s safety.
I know dozens of smart doctors who I trust, and all of them have received the vaccine and they all recommend it -- including my mom, nurse Harriette, and she has never steered me wrong.
Both of my parents are vaccinated and, like me, my siblings are vaccinated, too. I am so thankful we are now able to gather as a family again without the fear of unknowingly infecting our parents.
My vaccine experience
I received both doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. The first shot (pictured above) was administered by my nurse Eric. I didn’t even feel the needle go in (he was that good), and only later had some mild arm pain at the injection site that faded away in a couple days.
I received my second dose exactly three weeks later to the day with a different nurse. I did feel the needle going in, but no pain and I felt normal the rest of the day. I woke up for work as I always do at 2:30 a.m. the next day and felt more tired than normal, my upper arm was really sore, and I was a little achy in my legs -- but I pressed on and went to work. Later that morning, I still felt fatigued and achy; on a pain level from 1-5, I felt I was at about a 3. I took some Advil and by noon that day all my symptoms were gone except the achy arm at the injection site, and that pain was more than the first time. The arm pain lasted a couple days and then I was as good as new.
So my experience did not disrupt my life at all. I had no symptoms the first shot, and only mild symptoms with the second.
Schedule your appointment
The vaccine will soon be available to everyone aged 16 and older in Michigan, so don’t hesitate: Make the time to schedule your appointment and get vaccinated so we can get rid of the threat of this deadly virus. The sooner most of us are vaccinated, the sooner we can return to doing more of things we love with the people we love, while helping to keep our friends, neighbors and all members of our community and country safe!
Michigan COVID-19 vaccinations: How to find appointments, info on phases