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Milwaukee Health Care Worker Says Getting The Vaccine Gives Him 'A Big Safety Net'

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For Milwaukee medical scribe William, getting the vaccine was worth it despite the side effects.

Wisconsin has moved into phase 1b of the vaccination roll out, meaning teachers, essential workers and everyone 65 years or older has become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

To make sure people know what it’s like to get the vaccine, Lake Effect asked medical professionals who have been vaccinated to share their story about getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

William is a medical scribe in Milwaukee, and he got his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Jan. 4. He says despite knowing there could be side effects of getting the vaccine, he was still excited to get it.

“I kinda felt like this would be a moment where a weight would be lifted off our shoulders,” he says. “When you’re working in the medical field, you don’t know what’s going to walk through those doors, you wanna make sure you’re doing everything you can to be safe, but [getting vaccinated] adds an extra safety net, a big safety net.”

After the first dose, William says he felt tenderness in his left arm and it was hard to raise above his shoulder for about two days. After getting his second dose, he woke up in the middle of the night with chills and felt body aches and fatigue for the rest of the day.

William says despite all of this, he would get the shot again if he had to.

For everyone who feels trapped inside of their home, he says getting the vaccine is one step closer to opening your door. “You should get the vaccine because you go from feeling like you’re trapped in your house to feeling like you have a chance, that there’s hope,” he says.

Audrey is a WUWM host and producer for Lake Effect.