After three swab tests, multiple variants of the coronavirus manifesting and semi-lockdowns, and repeatedly cancelled travel bubbles, I’ve finally completed my two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Despite being the last age group to be eligible to register for vaccination, my second dose of the vaccine couldn’t be more timely—Singapore (where I’m from) is seeing the next wave of coronavirus infections amidst its ambiguous plans towards reopening the country.

But I’m not yet fully vaccinated—it takes about two weeks (from the second dose) for the immune system to produce antibodies at levels that block infections. Moreover, as the world prepares for endemic living with COVID-19, annual booster shots will be as commonplace as flu shots. I guess we’ll never be completely immune to the virus.

Initially, I (too) have concerns over the potential side effects of getting inoculated as mRNA vaccines border into uncharted territories1 in vaccinology. Thankfully, youth is slipping away from me, so my side effects were pretty mild—some fatigue after my first shot and tenderness at the injection site for both shots. And surprisingly, the second dose felt less taxing on my body than the first.

Indeed, everyone reacts to the jabs differently but for most, getting vaccinated outweighs being unable to smell the brew of the day and gasping for air every waking moment of our lives. And with long COVID lingering after an infection… by the spiky powers vested to us by the mRNA vaccines, it is now apodictic that we are responsible for convincing our parents and friends who are eligible for the vaccines to take them.

  1. I’ve found this video by Harvard University to be incredibly informative and helpful with explaining how an mRNA vaccine works. ↩︎