racheldoesinterviews

Interview with someone who has received the COVID vaccine

When did you have the vaccine?
I had my last vaccination on Thursday; it was the Pfizer one.
The vaccination process was excellent; everyone there was so friendly, it was rapid, we didn’t have to wait too long.
You have people running around with ipads helping you check-in, and you have a 15 mins slot. You fill out a form, and they send you to a socially distanced waiting room.
They write your vaccination on a card; it looks a bit like a business card; they have the date of the first vaccination, the vaccine you had and the batch code. Then, on the same card, they have the second vaccination date and the batch number again. With each vaccine, they have the date it was given and your name. This is so that if anything goes wrong, they can trace it back to the batch.


Did you have any side effects?
The first one, I had no effects at all. With the second vaccine, my arm ached for a day or two.
What would you say to people who are thinking about having the vaccine?
I would encourage other people to have the vaccine, so they protect themselves and other people. My daughter had long COVID, and she had a swollen heart. My cousin had it, and he ended up in the hospital and had breathing problems afterward. Getting COVID isn’t a good idea; you have fewer side effects from the vaccination than from COVID.

Why did you personally get the COVID vaccine?
It protects the whole family. No one wants to get COVID and kill their parents or their grandparents.
Before COVID, my husband said that I stopped breathing during sleep. I went to the doctor, and he asked why I was there; I said that my husband said I stopped breathing for 40 seconds during sleep, and it wasn’t long enough. After which, he referred me to the sleep apnea clinic, and I tried this machine which was tricky to use. After COVID is over, they are giving me a device to stop my jaw from falling backwards and stopping me from breathing; this only happens with I lie on my back. The doctor who looked at me for sleep apnea put my name down, and I got the vaccine quite early.
I had it, so I don’t kill my husband as it has CLL (a type of leukaemia) and no spleen, I had the vaccine as I wanted, and I wanted my husband to live (sometimes). I also had it partly to travel to see my brother who is out in Thailand, cause he’s a dirty old man 😉. After having the vaccine, I had a photo taken off it in case it helps with going abroad. If you don’t get your vaccine, I think it will be very difficult to go abroad. I think further down the line, its going to extend to things like pubs.
I would highly recommend that everyone get the vaccine. My husband has CLL and no spleen, and he had no reaction whatsoever.

racheldoesinterviews

Interview about the vaccine (Level B1)

Interviewer: What did you initially think about getting the vaccine?
Interviewee: I initially thought it was very rushed, so I wasn’t interested in getting it.
I was also in contact with a particular person who had certain views about the vaccine. I think being a bit isolated can affect your evaluation of things, and it’s best to be able to speak to a range of people to broaden your way of thinking.


Interviewer: What changed your mind?
Interviewee: Speaking to family members and watching a talk on YouTube that was among my suggested videos.


Interviewer: What did your family say to you?
Interviewee: It was my mum getting the vaccine. My mother also said that people get vaccinated all the time against illness, e.g., when traveling to different countries and getting vaccinated against yellow fever.

Interviewer: What was said in the talk online that changed your mind?
Interviewee: The guy who was giving the talk said that people are dying and you don’t want your negligence to be part of the reason that people are dying.


Interviewee: What were your thoughts on having the vaccine?
Interviewer: I trust the vaccine as they have to go through a more rigorous process compared to other drugs.

Interviewee: What do you mean by that?
Interviewer: Say, for example, you compare the vaccine to a cancer drug. With both vaccinations and the cancer drug, you ideally want as few side effects as possible. However, with the cancer drug, you are willing to accept some adverse side effects or risk of harm if the benefits are sufficiently great, e.g., saving someone’s life or prolonging it. Whereas with a vaccine, you are giving the treatment to many people who at the point of administration may be perfectly healthy. Thus, the threshold that is accepted for side effects when it comes to the vaccine is higher.
Any side effects that the vaccine has will be the immune system responding however that is the sign that the vaccine is working.