If anyone else is concerned, as I was, about the expected side-effects of the second vaccine dose, here's what my wife's doctor told us shortly before we got ours:
He said that a noticeable reaction to the second dose of the vaccine is a positive indication that the first dose is doing its job well, and we're producing antibodies to the the virus. We should be happy to trade a little discomfort for the protection that it offers.
Indeed. The night of my second dose, I woke up about 11:30 pm, about exactly 12 hours after receiving the dose, and just what the nurse told us to expect. My arm was hurting, I had a headache, and my neck was stiff. As the nurse had recommended, I took a Tylenol for the headache and sore neck muscles, and iced the arm, then stayed up and read all night, as the symptoms subsided.
The next day was quite bearable, although I didn't have any reason to leave the house that day, and today (the second day) if I have any symptoms at all, they're too mild to notice. I have a doctor appointment this morning and a physical therapy appointment this afternoon, and I'm pleased that I won't need to postpone either of those, as I had feared.
I realize that some people's reactions will be different than mine, but I wanted to point out that serious side-effects are by no means guaranteed. And if they DO occur, that's probably not such a bad thing. It means you have antibodies, and you're being protected.
