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You've probably heard a lot of stories about your friends and family members who've taken the COVID-19 vaccine. Anecdotes range anywhere from no ill effects whatsoever to severe flu-like symptoms and fever.

First, let me state that I'm not about to get into a fistfight with anyone who refuses to get vaccinated. Hey, that's certainly your choice and if you're already adamant about not taking the vaccine, I'm not going to change your mind. (And how the hell did you end up reading this in the first place?)

But if you're on the fence, let me try to bring you into my corner. It's been my opinion all along that the side effects of any vaccine are nothing compared to the disease being prevented. A couple of days on the couch beats a couple of days in the hospital. Period. I also did it for my family. We're starting to see evidence that people who are vaccinated are less prone to spreading coronavirus to people with whom they come into contact. I certainly don't want COVID and I definitely don't want to bring it home to my family if I'm exposed to someone who has it.

I got lulled into a false sense of security. My wife is an employee of Swartz Creek Community Schools and was eligible rather early to get the vaccine. She got her second dose of Moderna a few weeks ago and sailed right through without any issues. The same is true for her mother -- business as usual.

Then, there are a handful of people I know who have experienced illness after getting their second shots. Those individuals began running fevers and feeling sick within just a few hours of taking the second dose.

I scheduled my second dose for Thursday (4/1) after work, knowing that I'd be working from home on Good Friday. Thursday evening was fine. When I woke up Friday morning feeling great, I thought I was out of the woods. I did a few things around the house, worked on the air from our home office, and assumed I was in the clear.

And then it hit me. It didn't really 'hit' me like a ton of bricks, but more than 24 hours after the shot, I was tired. Honestly, I live my life tired so I didn't think much of it. But after dinner, I couldn't keep my eyes open. Denise watched something on TV but I only saw a few minutes of it.

After sleeping away most of the evening I declared at 10 pm that it was time to "drag my a** from the couch to the bed."

I was out until 8 am. I got 10 solid hours of sleep. I haven't slept that much since I was a teenager. The sleep was glorious.

So all in all, I'd say I fared pretty well getting the COVID-19 vaccine. My reaction was delayed, but mild. And a little extra sleep certainly didn't hurt.

So if you're on the fence or worried about getting the coronavirus vaccine, I personally urge you to take it. Especially if you tend to get shortchanged on sleep and just need a good excuse to spend half a day in bed.

 

LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.

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