Age: 40.0
Sex: M
Vaccine: COVID19
Symptoms: Fatigue, Headache, Hypopnoea, Injection site pain, Injection site swelling
Clinical narrative: My roommate and I got the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine at about the same time. He got his the day before I did. A few days after the second dose, he started complaining about pneumonia. He went to the doctor to get antibiotics and steroids for it. The next day, I also got sick; but at the time I had no health insurance so I could not see a doctor about it. Symptoms: headache, sore throat, fatigue, dizziness, loss of appetite, fever, bad wet cough, pneumonia, shallow breathing, temporary loss of smell/taste, permanent reduction in sense of smell and muscle aches. Mainly symptoms were contained to the respiratory area. Usually if it's allergies the symptoms are mainly in my sinuses, but my head was clear this time. Starting on the second day after my vaccine (2nd dose), I had a bit of a sore throat and headache but didn't think too much of it.  It felt like I might be getting a "head cold" later, which happens a lot because of my seasonal allergies but they are typically not too bad and can be avoided by taking an antihistamine.  So I took a Benadryl when I got home. Then about two hours later I was having dinner in my kitchen, when all of a sudden it just hit me hard. A wave of fatigue and dizziness, followed by a long coughing fit. I could feel the fluid in my lungs along with the cough. I had to lie down or I likely would have passed-out. And within twenty minutes I had all the symptoms I previously listed. It stayed that bad for three days so I went to drive-through pharmacy and was tested for the COVID vaccine, results came back negative for that.  It stayed that bad for one more day after I got tested, then it gradually started to get a little bit better - at least the fatigue and dizziness weren't so bad and my sense of smell started coming back.  But I stayed sick for 11 days straight, had to "self-quarantine" because it was so bad. My immune system is stronger than average. I haven't even had the flu since I was seven (not for more than a day at least). It's so strong that it's attacking my own skin faster than the skin can heal now. It also results in having pretty serious allergies to tree pollen and pet dander. Usually illness that would make someone else sick for a whole week, I only get it for a day - maybe two days if it comes with digestive problems, too. So this is a very unusual experience for me to get sick like this. Literally it was so bad that I started to wish that someone would come in and just kill me.  The single most awful experience of my life. My roommate and I both got tested for the COVID-19 virus on the same day. We went to different branches of the pharmacy for the testing, and both got cleared with negative results. It could just be coincidental timing that my roommate and I both got some other respiratory infection just two days after the vaccine. I suspect it was more likely a result of the vaccine: reduced immune response, or increased susceptibility, or something like that.  I suspect as much partly because of the timing, but mostly because of the severity of it. I just never get sick like that. The fast onset of symptoms, the severity of symptoms, and the extended duration of it makes me think that either it is related to the vaccine, or we actually got COVID-19 but for some reason the contagion test didn't pick up on it. In addition, after both doses (worse after the second one) I had a lot of pain and swelling at/near the injection site.  I received the injections in my upper arms (one on each side) and most of the arm was very stiff and sore after each injection for two days for the first dose and three days for the second dose, starting early on the day after the injection. I apologize for the delay in getting this form done.  I've been meaning to do it since I got sick but I just kept getting distracted by other things and I'd forget about it, then remember again when I'm too busy to sit down and finish the paperwork so I'd forget again.