I was vaccinated in March of this year, and live in a county where almost 99% of its residents are vaccinated. And I tested positive for Covid this week.
Before you jump to the conclusion that the vaccine doesn't work, let me set you straight. It works, and it worked for me.
I live in a town fueled by summer tourism. There were thousands of people from all over the US here a couple of weeks ago for an annual country music festival. Just last weekend a street fair brought in vendors and visitors from all over the Minnesota/North Dakota areas. Every weekend the town is full of visitors enjoying their lake cabins.
Any one of them could have brought Covid to me. I suspect that a routine blood draw for an annual physical may have been the source. I have really hard veins to find, so the phlebotomist spent more time with me than normal. She was sniffing up a storm and said her allergies were worse than normal. I had just left my provider's office where she told me she'd quit rather than getting vaccinated. Both of the local healthcare systems have given a deadline of November 1st to get the vaccine, and just like the mandatory flu shot of a few years ago, workers are up in arms. I don't get it. I made the decision right then and there that this provider wouldn't have the pleasure of treating me again.
I had the blood draw on Tuesday, and worked a retail job both Friday and Saturday. After work I walked through the street fair and spent some time with 2 of my favorite vendors.
Sunday I mowed part of my lawn in preparation for putting up an electric fence. A lot of dirt was kicked up, and I had a scratchy throat that afternoon and evening.
Monday the scratchy throat continued, and by Monday evening it felt like I had a cold coming on, with just a dry cough and scratchy throat.
Tuesday I woke up with a headache, jaw pain, sneezing and congestion. No fever, but I knew I'd need to confirm Covid since I was working again that weekend. Test was done and I settled in at home to wait for the results - rapid tests are in short supply here, the nurse said, and were being used for patients in the hospital for other reasons.
Wednesday I was pretty miserable - felt like a bad sinus infection, but still no fever. I have a pulse oximeter, and my O2 levels were at 91% (normal for me is 99-100). I knew that if it went below 90 I needed to go to the ER, so I kept an eye on it. Other than being slightly out of breath doing my normal chores, I wouldn't tell the difference. That afternoon I got the positive test results and notified everyone I knew I'd come in contact with. Dayquil kept most of the symptoms at bay, but I went through a whole box of Kleenex!
Another restless night of sniffling and congestion, and Thursday brought me O2 levels back up to 95%, but I suddenly lost my sense of taste and smell. Still no fever.
Friday I still couldn't taste or smell, and my headache seemed like the worst symptom. I felt a little better though, and the headache soon went away.
Saturday - woke up feeling rested and much better. I was beginning to taste some salt and sweet tastes, but no sense of smell. My sinuses were clear, and my O2 was up to 97%.
Sunday (today) I woke up again rested after sleeping soundly all night. I feel almost normal except for a dry cough still no sense of smell. Two more days and I'll be done with Covid isolation and can rejoin the world!
So the vaccine worked the way it's supposed to. The actual vaccine itself was out of my system within 72 hours, but it set up the antibodies to recognize the infection and overcome the infection, quickly and efficiently. Because a vaccine doesn't guarantee you'll never get sick. No vaccine guarantees that. I didn't end up in the hospital taking up a bed that was needed for a stroke patient. THAT is the purpose of the vaccine.
