LLOYD dela Cruz was born and raised in the beautiful province of Cebu and now lives in Vancouver, Canada. He would probably be one of the first few people I know who has received the controversial Covid vaccine.
In my chat groups, our friends and family are divided if we will ever receive the vaccine, if and when it actually becomes available to us. As of today, there is no definite plan for the roll-out of vaccines in the Philippines. It is good to know though that several of our Filipino frontliners abroad have already gotten their dose.
Lloyd is one of them. He works in an acute care hospital and he does rotation to different wards such as the Covid unit, palliative care, oncology departments, Neuroscience, orthopedic and trauma departments. With his role in the hospital, he was a candidate for the vaccine provided for by the government of Canada. He got it for free and did not need to have health or private insurance to receive it.
The one that he was jabbed with was the Pfizer/Bio Ntech vaccine. He just got soreness on the inoculated site and a slight headache, which were typical symptoms he gets when he gets his annual flu shot.
He took two doses, the second dose was administered to him 21 days after the first dose. According to Lloyd, he felt entirely normal, with no unusual changes in his body. Even after the vaccine, he still has to follow the guidelines from the provincial health orders because he said he can still be a carrier of the virus and can still pass it on to someone. Getting the vaccine for him did not require any changes to his diet or activity. It was just like getting a flu shot.
I feel that the series I will run regarding Covid vaccines and real people who have taken the vaccine will put some people at ease that this vaccine is our chance if we ever want to get back to normal life. Of course, we still do not know the long term effects of the vaccine. But Lloyd says, so far, so good.
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