As a 31-year-old Melburnian this is almost certainly a selfish thing to say, but it really does feel like young people have lost a lot in this world of border closures and incessant lockdowns. Don’t get me wrong, I am incredibly grateful that our country came out of 2020 relatively unscathed, but frustrated doesn’t begin to describe how I feel about the way our leaders have navigated us through 2021. When vaccines arrived, it really did feel like a way out, and was something that we all could do to move forward and out of this total shitshow. But the rollout has been as slow as it has been confusing, and as politicised as it has been chaotic. And so still, us young folks sat by and waited for everyone else to get their act together.
The reality is, my friends and I make riskier decisions than getting the AstraZeneca vaccine all the time. We ingest too much of stuff we sometimes shouldn’t on weekends. We text while walking. Heck, us ladies even deign to walk home alone down our quiet street at night! We’ve been told time and time again to tRuSt ThE hEaLtH aDvIcE, while never actually being given a chance to. And so we’ve been left to the whims of a federal government who says we can’t move forward without a vaccine, but then cannot really tell us when that will be and so we continue to live this semi-hopeless, weird limbo-life.
I really don’t know (nor do I care) whether ScoMo knew what he was doing on Monday night when he opened the door for people like me to be vaccinated with AZ, but when he did, for many young people it felt like the most significant step towards normality since this all began last year. It empowered people like me, who have access to information and health advice about the risks associated with AZ, to do more than just stay home and wait for a vaccine that’s the medical equivalent of “on my way” but really still in the shower. I could finally make a positive, risk-based decision for myself and my community and get vaccinated immediately.
On Tuesday morning I called a local GP and made a booking to be vaccinated the following Monday. Later that day I saw on Twitter that my local vaccination hub at Prahran Town Hall is happy to vaccinate anyone over 18 with AZ so long as they spend a little time with the GP on duty there and are made aware of the risks and actively consent. I, like so many other millennials, don’t have a ‘regular GP’ but am aware that many of those folks who do would prefer to have the jab done by them, so I cancelled my appointment with the GP and made my way to the vaccination hub to test the truth of what I’d seen on Twitter.
I arrived a little after 9am without an appointment, and the place was not quite heaving but doing a solid trade, with a steady stream of people who looked to be over 50 coming through the door. I was the only person my age who was there to get AZ. When I arrived, the security guard on entry was unsure as to whether they’d vaccinate someone my age, but was happy to let me wait and ask the receptionist. The receptionist said that they still strongly recommend Pfizer for people my age, but that I could get the jab so long as I spoke to the GP on duty about the risks. I said: sure!
I waited about ten minutes before meeting my vaccinator, a dead-set legend and paramedic, who when asked why I was getting the jab (“to get this goddamn show on the road”) knowingly and enthusiastically nodded her head. She grabbed the GP who came in and showed me some familiar statistics, none of which were placed within the context of what greater good this vaccine can do for my community beyond my personal physical health, but were of course relevant to me and my decision. This is not the GP’s fault – they’re just the custodians of this bonkers rollout and aren’t responsible for weighing up health advice with the social and economic considerations of our country. That’s what governments are for!
I said I was happy to go ahead. A little pin prick, and then it was over. I hate needles but I felt totally normal physically and was ushered around to another area where I waited for 15 minutes to be sure it didn’t make me feel anything other than that. I thankfully didn’t. Emotionally, I was (and still am!) beside myself. Thrilled! Relieved! Excited! Grateful! In love with science! On our way!
In terms of side effects, later that day I felt well enough to swim some laps and get my heart rate up, and it was overnight when the standard side effects kicked in. I’d describe it as feeling like you have 20% of the flu and a very sore arm. I’m running a bit warmer than usual and am a little achy. I can also feel my heart working a little harder to process the vaccine, the same way you feel your heartbeat when you’re sick in bed with a bad cold. None of this stops me from living my life as usual, and I’ve been told this will subside in a day or so and isn’t anywhere near as bad the second time. As for the more serious side effects, the awesome healthcare workers made me very aware of what to look out for, and so I’ll be quick to address those should they arise.
AZ update: got my jab yesterday, side effects have kicked in (nausea and headache mostly). feels like a bad hangover on a day when you also have a super mild cold.
nothing bad enough to make me regret getting the vax, just glad I can WFH (bed).
— lavender baj (@lavosaurus) June 30, 2021
The emphasis on the GP disclaimer component of under 40s’ access to AZ means that had I not been on Twitter more than I should, I wouldn’t have known that being vaccinated at a vaccination hub was an option for me. To try and get the message out as I know some GPs are now pretty heavily booked for weeks, I posted a summary of my experience on my private Instagram when I got home. I’ve already had dozens of people thanking me, telling me they wish this was more known, and that they are going to do the same. We finally feel empowered to protect ourselves and each other, and move towards a little more certainty and a life we’ve come to so sadly feel nostalgic about, and it feels so good.
Georgia is a writer based in Naarm. You can read her random musings in her newsletter and find her lurking all day on Twitter and Instagram.
