Today's vaccine news

As a longtime TMSer, today's news re the J&J vaccine has me in a tizzy, even though it's been over a month since I received it and I'm old as dirt. I'm already reinterpreting my "same old, same old" TMS stuff as potentially life-threatening complications of the vaccine. Any suggestions on calming my brain in the time of the pandemic?

 

I’m right there with you. I just received the vaccine on Saturday and I’m a female in the age bracket. I too am experiencing all of the classic TMS type thinking. Would also love any advice. And I wanted to let you know you’re not alone

 

Ashley, congratulations on getting your vaccine! In spite of my TMS freakout, I was thrilled to be able to get it and enormously relieved. That hasn't changed a bit. The trouble with us worriers is that when the experts say, "Chances are less than one in a million," we think, "Really? That high?"

 

I got my vaccine a month ago and am thrilled that I did. The chance of a negative reaction is incredibly low. I’d take my chances with the vaccine rather than leave myself open to contracting Covid and what ever nasty side effects accompany it.

The vaccine also gives hope. Don’t most people want to get back to travelling, eating in restaurants, shopping in stores, and on and on. A vaccine is equal to freedom, to me anyway.

 

I also still feel so fortunate to have been able to get a vaccine. You definitely hit the nail on the head about the worrying TMS type thinking - I thought 1 in a million, that’s still high. I also found myself obsessing over the number of Moderna and Pfizer shots administered versus the J&J! TMS definitely has a way of sucking you back in.

 

We can intellectualize all we like, but our poor freaked out fearful brains will still latch on to whatever fears are available. So while the facts are not news to anyone, we all need to remind our primitive brains of the facts - in this case the fact that the risk of severe blood clotting from COVID is many times higher than the incredibly rare risk of this syndrome from the vaccine, right?

It's important to remember that stress makes everything worse, including your overall health, and I'm convinced that a healthy relaxed body will continue to operate normally, which includes having a normal response to the modern miracle of these vaccines.

Don't forget to breathe. Don't forget to drink water. Do some kind of conscious relaxation and self-soothing. Write down your fears and ask yourself - is this either useful or necessary?

This too shall pass.

 

I have friends in the U.K. who are left wondering the same thing about the AstraZeneca vaccine. I'm going to give you the same advice I gave them: the truth is, you received the vaccine over a month ago and are totally fine. If Johnson & Johnson is anything like AstraZeneca (I haven't seen enough data), the risk is higher for individuals under 30 but even then it's still very minor.

I got the Gardasil vaccine series over a decade ago, starting at the age of 19 (the series included three vaccines spaced out over the course of 6 months after each shot). My mother encouraged and even dictated this decision, but literally everyone else on the planet aside from my doctor seemed to scold me with stories about adverse reactions, permanent damage, and even death. Yes, death! Horror stories galore. I'm proud of myself for never giving it another thought, which now seems like it was out of character for that particular time. However, after seeing a close family friend develop cancer from HPV, I decided that the benefits outweighed the risks for me - which may be relevant to anyone afraid of vaccines in general, including COVID-19. Ultimately, Gardasil never resulted in anything negative for me. I've probably done more damage in my life by worrying about other things!

You said you're feeling okay - I would focus on that. Go for a soothing walk, talk a bath, listen to a relaxing song, pet your cat or dog, etc. Let yourself fixate on the positive things around you.

 

The fear of vaccines is not rational, given how much trust we place in manufacturers, producers, providers, regulators, and inspectors of the products we put into our mouths every day!

Anyone ever study the history of food production? Holy baloney - now there's something to give you nightmares! Baloney and other by-product mash-ups being an excellent example, of course.

 

Wow. Nowadays, the HPV vaccine is highly recommended by pediatricians and family doctors.

 

Well, I'm getting my first shot tomorrow. I'm in the age bracket and gender, plus my mom got chills. Dad didn't have any side effects but he's on immunosuppressants. Still nervous anyway. Hope I feel ok for both shots, and don't need to take time off from classes. I'm glad my college is on track to re-opening next school year though.

 

With food production stuff, people can just eat the least processed food they can and not watch those horror documentaries. I still wish my middle school cooking teacher didn't make us watch "Supersize Me!", it temporarily reactivated my long-dormant emetophobia and there was a gross surgical procedure shown for a few minutes(not a heart/organ surgery!). Chicken nuggets have a dark side unfortunately but that hasn't stopped me from having an occasional McChicken.

 

I got my first dose in the late 2000s - this version of the vaccine was fully discontinued years ago (a quick google search says in 2014) and was replaced with Gardasil 9. I'm not totally sure why, but this was before many U.S. insurance companies were even covering the series. There were tons and tons of stories about how bad that old version of Gardasil was - and people (who are not typically medical professionals) often seem to ease the worries of young people today by telling them that the horror stories are referring to the version I got, not the new version. But I am fine!

I also got the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 and am doing fantastic!

Very true! One of my relatives who is extremely against the vaccine and even rolled their eyes after I got Pfizer also smoked over a pack of cigarettes a day until literally just a few weeks ago, absolutely loves processed food, never exercises, has an extremely stressful job that does their mental health absolutely zero favors (they remind me of Cher's dad from Clueless), etc. I don't judge, but I have pointed this out to them: We all make choices in life and weigh benefits and risks - don't pretend that you aren't every single day!

 

Nice! I just got my first Pfizer shot today.