One of the few benefits of turning 65 is that the Australian government will pay for anyone to get the shingles vaccine. I got it at the local pharmacy, which is very convenient; and they didn't even need to see my Medicare card (my name being on whatever system they could access.)
So I got the first of two vaccinations on Friday, and was told it does have a high rate of reactions, which can include fever, tiredness, muscle aches, and possible gastrointestinal effects.
It hit me with a sore arm (at the injection site) and a lot of sleepiness on Saturday. Or maybe it just seemed like a good excuse for my mind to say "Finally! You have a good excuse to go to bed on a Saturday afternoon and stay there"? (No, I think I was genuinely suffering fatigue.)
Anyhow, the arm is sill sore today, but not so tired. My back is hurting a bit though - possibly that's a muscle ache from it? I also decided to skip my fasting day to help recover from the vaccine effects.
One of the main reasons I wanted to get it, apart from being at risk of shingles, was this association with reduced dementia risk. Seems worth the side effects...
1 comment:
That was lucky. This site suggests it's a 50/50 chance of getting side effects.
https://www.ausvaxsafety.org.au/shingrixr-vaccine-safety-data-now-available
Some other sites seem to put it more at 70% getting some reaction.
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