On Wednesday, I received the second dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

It’s a day that I've been anticipating and dreading. Anticipating because of the sense of relief I’d feel afterward, the sense that I'd be one step closer to returning to normal. Dreading because of the possible side effects people have reported experiencing, the side effects that I am currently feeling. Fever, chills, headaches, body aches, fatigue. You name it. I either felt it last night or am feeling it right now. And it sucks. It really does. And with vaccine eligibility open to folks 16 and older, I know a lot of other people will be getting the first or even their second vaccine dose soon, and that many of those people might be anxious about the imminent potential side effects.  

So for this week on Footnotes, we spoke with Dawn Nolt. She’s a professor of pediatrics at Oregon Health and Science University, with a special focus on infectious diseases. I spoke with her yesterday—just after my second dose appointment—about the importance of taking both COVID vaccine doses, second dose possible side effects, and why feeling these side effects is actually a good thing.  

Guest 

• Dawn Nolt, professor of pediatrics at Oregon Health & Science University