I Want to Talk About What the Covid Vaccine Did to My Body

When a recent study was released about the long-term side-effects experienced by some who took the Covid vaccine, I was relieved ().

For once, there was a US study that validated my own reaction to the Moderna vaccine. While there were published studies about the negative side effects of vaccines generated in other countries, , there was nothing that spoke to my experience.

I felt alone, and scared to speak about my vaccine response because vaccines are such a politically charged topic.

From the moment Covid vaccines were introduced, a binary formed: you either got the vaccine or you were an anti-vaxxer. Our society was cruel and narrow-minded in its casting of anti-vaxxers as ignorant, selfish, Republican, stupid, and dangerous. Anti-vaxxers were seen as a threat — someone who was against the common good and caused more to die (there is some truth in this statement, which is how glaring binaries start in the first place).

For me, I felt like there was only one clear option when it came to the Covid vaccine: take it. As a mental health therapist, I wanted to protect my clients. Furthermore, I was privy to the stories of my clients — of family members who died from Covid, of what doctors witnessed as they worked at hospitals, and more. Covid felt very real.

In my hometown, I was given the vaccine relatively early due to my career. The first shot caused pain for a few…