I’m wasn’t sure about getting the vaccine…

I have been nervous about getting the COVID19 vaccine. I had heard of many stories about people being unwell after or the possible side effects to my health and fertility – it made me highly anxious and really conflicted in my decision making on whether or not to get this vaccine. I felt that I was young and healthy, I eat well and I exercise so surely I don’t need the vaccine?

Working within care, I have seen firsthand the impact that this virus has on the people within care homes, not only our residents but on colleagues - it’s been tragic and terrifying. Even experiencing this, I was still unnerved by the possible side effects of the vaccine – how could it possibly be safe after such little time in production.

Over the last few months, my attitude towards the vaccine has started to change, and I now view the vaccine as ‘what will happen if I don’t get it’ rather than my previous concern of what will happen if I do.

The research I carried out before getting the vaccine was thorough, I looked at the pros and cons, the concerns and the myths. I also spoke to friends and family, most of whom were 100% behind the idea of getting the vaccine.

I started to realise that actually, although I had the belief that I would be ok even if I caught the virus, there were things that I wanted to protect myself from:

• I wanted to go out with my friends and family again and I didn’t want to worry about who I was with and how close to them I was
• I wanted to go on holiday again in the future
• I wanted to get back to some sort of normality in life and recognised that yes, the vaccine probably was the best route out of this pandemic
• My biggest fear – I didn’t want to be responsible for bringing this virus back into our care home or put our residents at risk

We absolutely all have a choice in life, and we are all capably of making decisions that we think are right for ourselves and our family. My outcome was that despite my worries, the best decision was to get the vaccine. I wanted to protect myself, my family and those I care for – the vaccine was the best way I could see of doing that over the long term.

Other than a sore arm (after my first jab), I thankfully didn’t feel any other side effects. I was reassured that the vaccine wasn’t a ‘live vaccine’ meaning that it wasn’t giving me COVID19, it was simply supporting my immune system to build a defence and in time, develop protection to the virus.

I am now very happy with the decision that I made to get the vaccine – for me, it is reassuring to know that with this, I am less likely to become ill and I have done my bit to protect those around me. I am also very excited about being able to go out and do all the normal life things in life that I so greatly enjoy.

For anyone with concerns, I would suggest speaking to people who have had this. I wound the NHS inform website really helpful: https://bit.ly/3tY7be4