On the morning of Apr. 7, NHS opened its doors to a handful of eager 16-year-olds and older, excited to receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Administration chose to host a vaccination clinic in the wrestling mezzanine for students over 16 years of age to receive their first dose in response to Kansas moving into Phase 5. Students were required to sign up for their vaccination beforehand through a website called Jotform.

Students received the Pfizer vaccine and will receive their second dose on Apr. 28. Of the many students who signed up to take part in the clinic, three were members of the Newtonian staff. In the paragraphs to follow, each staff member will share their experience with receiving the vaccine and their personal reaction to the vaccination throughout the day. 

Testimonials are as follows:

Eris Rindt –

I got the vaccine at about 8 a.m. on the morning of Apr. 7. During the vaccination, I was pretty nervous but the staff that gave it were very nice and the actual injection only took about two seconds to get. The workers do require you to stay for 15 minutes to make sure you do not have any type of reaction to the vaccine, but they did provide a sticker and sucker for people that wanted them. I felt completely normal with no soreness till around 11 a.m. At around 12 a.m. I started to feel a bit tired and the soreness was pretty bad around this time.

 During the rest of the day I felt completely normal. The soreness was the worst when I moved my arm, but doing slight arm stretches relieved some of the pain. I could not lay on the arm because of the soreness. When I woke up there was still some soreness but it was less sore than before. Overall, the only side effect I have had has been a sore arm. 

Ann Pomeroy – 

After patiently awaiting my vaccination on the morning of Apr. 7, I received an E-hallpass for my appointment and quickly made my way towards the wrestling room. Once I arrived, I was instructed to file in and take my seat in the socially distanced chairs to wait for my turn. Throughout the whole process the staff were very nice and even joked with me about the best pose for my picture.

For the majority of the day I truly had no severe reaction or any soreness. I went about my day as usual, from class to class, and then attended track practice, violin lessons and day three of cheer tryouts. Towards the last hour of cheer tryouts I began to feel a tightness in my upper arm and shoulder blade. This made driving home a bit painful but nothing that one could not handle. All in all, a small price to pay to finally receive my vaccination.

Daniel Gonzalez-Arevalo – 

Throughout the day my left arm, in which I received my COVID-19 shot, felt normal. It felt a little weird at first but after about an hour I felt completely fine. Towards the end of the school day I had to get ready for work since I had that at 4 p.m. right after school. At work I did a variety of things like push carts and it was not until then that I felt a little funny. It was nothing serious, just a headache and then my arm finally started to hurt. 

The pain was not bad by any means, it just felt like a small bruise. Overall I would describe my experience getting the vaccine as a positive one. I am just getting mentally prepared for the second vaccine since that is the one a lot of people have complained about.