A side effect of the Moderna vaccine: R-E-L-I-E-F
By Zandy Dudiak, Communications coordinator
The pandemic has changed the way that Tammy Perry has approached her job as a service coordinator based at Reedsdale. Instead of seeing individuals she serves in person, she’s been talking with them on the phone.
“Some actually like the phone calls,” she says. “But others keep asking when I am going to come see them again. Most of them miss that face-to-face.”
“I decided a while ago that I was going to do it,” says Tammy, who is the mother of two boys. “I did it for myself and my family so that I know I’m protected. This just provides an important layer of protection for the persons you are in contact with and their families.”
Tammy has volunteered as an ambassador for Pittsburgh Mercy to share her experience for others contemplating whether or not to get vaccinated. Although she understands the vaccine doesn’t guarantee 100 percent protection, she felt there was less of a chance of contracting and spreading it if she was vaccinated.
While her sister, a nurse, had told her the side effects were similar to flu vaccines, Tammy’s mother was a bit concerned because Tammy previously had side effects with vaccines as a child. “The only thing I worried about was the side effects,” Tammy says. “The worry is gone.”
With her first COVID-19 vaccine, she only had a sore arm and was tired, nothing that affected her work. Tammy says the biggest side effect is “the relief you have after you get it.”
Tammy Perry receives her vaccine.