*The purpose of this article is simply to chronicle my COVID journey as I’ve done since October 2021. This will be my 10th article in my COVID Chronicles series and I am not paid by or affiliated with Novavax or any vaccine. I am not a scientist or medical professional. Please consult your physician before making any medical decisions.
During a recent job search, I discovered the new Novavax COVID vaccine because many employers will only consider fully vaccinated applicants. Being a writer and independent consultant for the last 3 years, I wasn’t aware of this new employment requirement.
Unfortunately, I had a slow and complicated recovery from COVID that included a vaccination waiting period and a history of severe reactions to previous vaccines. Needless to say, knowing that the only qualification I didn’t meet for some great jobs was my vaccination status added a level of stress and anxiety in my journey to return to a traditional 9–5.
However, I made the conscious decision to set my fears aside, do my due diligence, and researched the various vaccines. Below are the current vaccines listed on Vaccine.gov:
First, I consulted my primary care physician who initially suggested that I get the flu vaccine. He explained that different vaccines have “active” or dormant parts of a virus. This scared me and made me think of my bad experiences with previous vaccines. I declined the flu shot and asked about COVID vaccines. He admitted he didn’t know very much and referred me to an allergist.
After talking to friends, family, and a pharmacist, I consulted the knowledgeable and wonderful members of Body Politic a COVID support group and resource hub. That’s when I came to the conclusion that Novavax may be the best option due to the low reporting of severe side effects.
An article from Yale Medicine (October 2022) said that Novavax company is based out of Maryland and has been approved in 40 other countries including the US. They say, Novavax is “unique among the available coronavirus vaccines in this country in that it uses a traditional virus-blocking technology (one that’s been used against other diseases).” (Katella, 2022)
The vaccine was found to be 90% effective against mild, moderate, and severe disease in the company’s Phase 3 trial involving 30,000 participants ages 18 and older, according to an FDA summary, when the vaccine was approved for adults 18 and older in July… the data on the vaccine’s efficacy was gathered before Omicron became the predominant variant, so its efficacy against Omicron and its subvariants is unknown.” (Katella, 2022)
According to the Novavax website, the Novavax vaccine is different because:
“…In our vaccines, we organize recombinant proteins in a nanoparticle. This arrangement mimics nature, helping your immune system recognize that target protein from different angles 7 — the same way that your immune system would see the details of a real pathogen. In our vaccines, there’s no actual virus, just the protein. The vaccines can’t cause disease.
Learning to recognize vaccine proteins in this way helps train your immune system to develop protective antibodies that can help prevent you from getting sick… (https://www.novavax.com, 2022)
The Novavax website further explained:
Nanoparticles with spike proteins are just 1 of 2 important parts of the Novavax vaccine. The spike protein is the “signal,… That signal boost comes from our Matrix-M “adjuvant.” Tiny Matrix-M adjuvant particles increase the activity of your immune system when you receive a vaccine. Together, the vaccine’s spike protein and Matrix-M adjuvant help stimulate a protective immune response.” (https://www.novavax.com, 2022)
Again, I am not a medical professional or scientist and I’m not paid by Novavax or any other pharmaceutical company. This is just another part of my COVID journey.
I got the Novavax vaccine on December 12, 2022 and I didn’t have any reaction or soreness. The day after the injection site was a little itchy — but that’s about it. Here are some other observations and notes that may be interesting or helpful:
Unfortunately, a lot of the bigger national chains or local clinics don’t carry the Novavax vaccine. As a matter of fact, it was kind of hard to find where to get vaccinated. I initially went to my city’s website and while it had tons of information on the various vaccines, it sent me to vaccine.gov to find testing and vaccination sites.
According to a local pharmacist from a national chain, Novavax isn’t offered there because it’s relatively new. I literally had to drive 40 minutes away to get it.
I hate getting needles and I was terrified, but it was a very easy process. I scheduled my appointment online and when I arrived, I was given a medical history form. I made sure I listed all my medications and previous reactions. The pharmacist asked me follow-up questions and made sure that there wouldn’t be any foreseeable issues. It took less than a minute for me to get the vaccine and then I was asked to wait 15 minutes. I waited and she handed me my vaccination card and confirmed that I could come back in 21 days for the 2nd dose.
About three days later, I got the sniffles, but I had similar symptoms a few days before my appointment because of heating issues in my apartment.
Lessons Learned
When facing a big career decision, you have to do your research and ask questions to make informed decisions. As I stated, I’m not a scientist — so I don’t fully understand all the science behind Novavax’s nanotechnology, but I know they don’t use live or dormant viral particles and this is the first vaccine that I didn’t have cold or flu-like symptoms after.
COVID is not over and it’s still dangerous. However, while I know a few people who had reactions to other vaccines, none of them have been hospitalized after the vaccination or when they contracted COVID for the first time or were reinfected.
I get my 2nd dose next week and hopefully start a new position sometime in January. This experience helped me face my fears and calm my concerns. Yet, I wonder how this will impact people who are immunocompromised or have some form of allergies to vaccines or parts of vaccines.
I still don’t know if I’m lucky, if Novavax really doesn’t have a lot of side effects or if my body is stronger- a year after my bout with COVID. I’m just grateful to be here to tell my story.
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