Booster Talk – 411 From 406 (Episode 61)

[Music]

CHEWIE:
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. This is the 411 From 406, and my name is Chewie.

How is everybody? It has been quite some time at this point since there has been a new episode here on the feed. I am thrilled to tell you that Pip and I are going to get together tomorrow evening and record an episode. I have no idea what we’re going to talk about, but it is on both of our schedules—and that makes me remarkably happy.

Again, I do have to apologize. It has been quite some time since we’ve had a new episode here. What can I say? Life has gotten in the way. It’s the holidays, it’s the craziness, and everything that comes along with that—and everything that comes along with living in 2020 and now 2021.

COVID continues to run rampant. Now we’ve got a new variant—this one, I believe, is called Omicron. And for most of the children of the ’80s out there—at least the guys my age—the first thing you probably thought of when you heard that was Unicron from Transformers: The Movie.

Ironically enough, the voice of Unicron in that movie was played by the great Orson Welles. If I remember correctly, I believe that was his last performance prior to him passing away. Little tidbit there—I actually really enjoy that movie.

So, I figured I would just kind of jump on here. I’m in the car. I’m on the way to pick up my oldest son from basketball practice. He’s been kind of out of commission.

Today was actually his first day back at school. He had missed a couple of days this week. He went to his basketball game on Friday night—today is Wednesday as I’m recording this—came home, went to sleep, and basically didn’t get out of bed until Monday.

For a 15-year-old, six-foot-one, 170-pound athlete, that is very, very abnormal. He had every single symptom of COVID… but he didn’t have COVID.

We got him two negative COVID tests. He had a negative strep test. But he had absolutely every symptom: chills, a really bad sore throat, a nasty cold, a nasty cough, an upset stomach, exhaustion. It was really kind of weird.

And I guess that just goes to show that even though we’ve been hyper-focused for almost two years now on COVID-19, the reality is: it’s still flu season. It’s still cold season. There are still viruses going around.

So I guess I would just caution you to stay healthy. Continue to do the things you do to keep yourself healthy and safe—COVID notwithstanding.

Of course, it was the worst week for him to miss school. He’s a freshman in high school, and this week is finals week. He missed Monday, which was review day, where all of his teachers went over finals. He missed Tuesday and missed two finals.

He went back to school today, Wednesday, and was scheduled to take two more finals—but it sounds like he actually made up the two he missed yesterday. So I imagine when I pick him up here in a couple minutes, he’s going to be mentally exhausted and probably physically exhausted as well.

And tonight, I have to take him to baseball practice too. Such is life as a two-sport athlete in high school.

I also am very much under the weather today. I’m not necessarily happy about it, but I got boosted yesterday. I got my booster.

I’m not going to turn this podcast into pro-vaccine or anti-vaccine. I don’t really care what your opinion is. I guess I just wanted to tell you my story.

I’ve talked on the podcast in the past about my COVID story. I was one of the original breakthrough cases—before “breakthrough case” was a thing, before variants were a thing.

I initially got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine back in April of 2021. Then I tested positive for COVID, along with my three boys, in late May of 2021.

I had never really intended on getting a booster. I held the opinion that I had immunity from the vaccine and natural immunity from having COVID, and that felt sufficient.

I held that opinion until yesterday afternoon, around noon, when I started doing the math. It had been about eight months since I had COVID. And depending on what you read, there are conflicting reports about how long vaccine efficacy lasts and how long natural immunity lasts.

But it really hit me when my oldest son got sick. Even though it wasn’t COVID, I realized that, in general, I am not what you would call a healthy person. I’m far too heavy, and I drink far too much. I go to work, I go to public events, I’m around people.

The combination of all that led me to decide that, for me, getting boosted was the right decision.

I got the Johnson & Johnson booster as well. I consulted my doctor and asked whether I should still get boosted after vaccination and COVID. She said yes.

I asked her which booster I should get. She said it didn’t matter—it was up to me. I didn’t have adverse reactions the first time, and I had a mild case of COVID, so I stuck with Johnson & Johnson.

For anyone looking to get vaccinated or boosted, I actually went to Sam’s Club. I got online around 3:30, and by 4:30 I had an appointment. They had all three vaccines available at no cost. I was very impressed.

As I said earlier, I feel like garbage today. I got the booster yesterday around 4:30. I had a council meeting last night, went out afterward, and felt fine. My arm was a little sore, but no problems.

Then I went to sleep and tossed and turned all night. I got a terrible night’s sleep, if I slept at all. My heart was racing—my Fitbit had me over 100 beats per minute most of the night.

I woke up this morning, took my kids to school, planned on going into the office, but I called my boss and said I was exhausted and not feeling well. I went home around 7:50 in the morning and slept until about 11:00—just the sleep of the dead.

Even now, as I’m recording this around 4:20 in the afternoon, my heart rate is still in the 90s. It’s pretty clear my body is fighting something.

I don’t know if that’s from the booster, from my son being sick, or a combination of both. If I had to guess, it’s probably the booster—but I’m not a doctor.

What I will say is that I probably feel worse today than I did when I got the original vaccine back in April—and probably worse than when I actually had COVID.

I’m not saying this to scare anyone. I’m not saying this to add to vaccine or booster hesitancy. I’m a big proponent of vaccines. I think they work. I’m very anti-mandate—but that’s a different discussion for a different podcast.

I just wanted to jump on, give an update, and share my experience.

The good news is that Pip and I are getting together tomorrow evening to record a longer episode. That’s my favorite version of this podcast—when the two of us get together and just talk, whether it’s wrestling, movies, or just shooting the shit.

I hope everybody is gearing up for a wonderful holiday season. I hope you’re able to spend it with family, friends, and loved ones. And I hope everyone is staying happy, healthy, and safe.

Once again, my name is Chewie. This has been the 411 From 406. I’ll talk to you soon. Have a good afternoon.