DENVER (KDVR) — Many Coloradans who were first in line for COVID-19 vaccines will be injected with second doses this week.
As days turn into weeks, time is a friend of the vaccination assault against the COVID-19 virus for those who have already been administered the first dose.
“Knowing that you have the immunity that you’re going to get from this is phenomenal,” said Dr. Jamie Teumer, ER medical director at UCHealth’s Medical Center of the Rockies.
Teumer is ready for the greatest protection the Pfizer vaccine can provide. He gets dose two of two on Wednesday — 21 days from the time of his first injection.
“I felt remarkably well [after the first injection],” Teumer said. “I woke up the next day, and I had a little bit of tenderness at the injection site on my arm. I had a little bit of malaise, and I felt … the slightest headache. But within a couple hours, the headache and the malaise [were] gone.”
Teumer and other doctors stress, that while we don’t know what long term impacts can come from the vaccines, they are confident the risk of contracting COVID-19 is worse.
From a mental health standpoint, the vaccine provides comfort. Two shots in the arm will relieve stress and anxiety levels for many.
Teumer said he’s proud of Colorado’s rollout compared to other states and hopes the process will only get better from here.
“If you want it, everybody is going to be able to get it,” he said. “I think people just have to be patient with it.”
Some of the common vaccine side effects include fever, chills, tiredness and headache, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).