The COVID-19 lockdowns created a stay-at-home environment with fewer stressors as it decreased the need for daily strenuous activities and allowed for my university classes to shift online, a blessing during the winter for someone with sickle cell disease. Though this led to me having fewer pain crises, COVID-19 was and continues to be a very scary disease. Even the common cold is difficult to deal with on top of all my sickle cell-related challenges, so it was unsettling to wonder if I could recover from a COVID-19 infection. To be able to prevent the serious effects of COVID-19, I would have done anything as long as it was safe.
When the first COVID-19 vaccines were approved in Canada, I felt they were my best chance at preventing severe COVID-19 infection. It comforted me to see that the government was open about the negatives of the vaccine. They did not hide the side effects nor the fact that COVID-19 infection is still possible even after vaccination. I also think that the Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario’s push to get at-risk people with sickle cell added to the list of folks who were prioritized to receive their first dose was really encouraging. If not for that push, it would have been either June or July last year when I would have received my first dose, so being able to get vaccinated earlier was really convenient and necessary for me. Personally, I feel confident in the COVID-19 vaccinations, which is why I have been triple vaccinated. I know that not everyone feels this way, but to me, it is common sense to protect ourselves and those around us.
The process of obtaining the vaccination was relatively easy–the only roadblock being some difficulty confirming that those with sickle cell disease were eligible to receive their vaccine early. After my first dose, I had a fever and pain in the area of injection, which lasted about 24 hours. For the second dose and booster, I did not experience any side effects.
However, on the day after getting my third dose, I contracted COVID-19. I was also recovering from pneumonia and a pain crisis at the same time after being in the hospital the week before. The experience was similar to a lockdown since I had to self-isolate and the sickness was relatively mild. I only had a sore throat and a bit of a cough, both of which went away. I do not think it affected my sickle cell, though I was still weaning off medications, so it was hard to tell. Having been vaccinated, my body knew what to do when encountering the virus because it has the necessary antibodies to protect itself and this prevented more serious complications.
