VACCINATED, BUT HURTING COVID STAYED AWAY, SIDE EFFECTS DIDN’T
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ike everyone, I was delighted when the first COVID-19 vaccines received federal approval last December. The vaccines, developed under the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed and by pharmaceutical partners in Germany, are a gift to the world. As an active 64-year-old who enjoys good health, I decided not to rush to get the vaccine. After all, there were many people much older and less healthy who could benefit ahead of me. While I was cautious, I was never overcome with fear. I did not buy into the corporate media reporting that often focused on stoking irrational fear and even panic. Instead, I read and researched the issues from differing professional views.
CH By Cecily Hastings Publisher’s Desk
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The medical censorship in the media (still underway) astounded me. Any trust of the media I had evaporated. However, my husband is 92. While he has no underlying medical conditions, his doctor and family wanted him vaccinated. At the end of January, I signed him up for the shot. I was also offered an appointment. Thinking it might keep him safer to have me vaccinated, I took it. The next day, we received our first doses of the Moderna vaccine at Cal Expo. We experienced no side effects that first day. However, the next day, playing tennis, my hands grew extremely sore. As days passed, I noticed my joints were swollen and inflamed, especially early in the morning. It took more than a week for me to connect the pain as a possible side effect of the vaccine. Hand pain was among the top side effects of the Moderna shot. So were migraine headaches. I experienced those too. I wrote friends and family to let them know that, while I was not discouraging anyone from getting vaccinated, they should use caution. Side effects can be real. Amazingly, a couple people insisted
my hand pain had nothing to do with the vaccine! My primary-care doctor—Justin Altschuler of Sequoia Medical— suggested the problem was suddenonset rheumatoid arthritis, a possible side effect of the vaccine. I reported my problems on the government’s VAERS website, which was difficult and timeconsuming. After conservative treatments failed, Dr. Altschuler Dr. Diana Girnita wanted me to see a rheumatologist. We quickly learned local rheumatologists were booked six to eight months out for new patients. He said with the side effects of COVID and the vaccine, many patients needed greater care. He said the cost would be many thousands of dollars, out-of-pocket in my case.
This was disappointing. At home in East Sacramento, I am surrounded by major medical centers. Dignity Health, Sutter General and UC Davis Medical Center are within 5 miles of my home. They are the pride of our region. Yet, there was no care available for my worsening condition and its complications.
