Elkhart City Councilman gets COVID-19 Vaccine

ELKHART, Ind. - Elkhart First District City Councilman Aaron Mishler was one of the first to get his first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine. He was one of the first because he is a frontline working nurse and thus, eligible to be in one of the earliest groups. He got the dose on Monday of last week and said he has not had significant side effects.

"I feel great," Mishler said. "I feel perfectly fine."

Mishler got his first dose at Elkhart General Hospital which is one of the facilitators of the vaccine rollout. He said he was in and out within 15 minutes.

"The experience was really smooth," Mishler said. "The folks at Elkhart General had a great flow setup."

Mishler said the only true side effect he has felt since getting the vaccine is a sore arm for a couple of days. Otherwise, he has been "fine."

"I've experienced no side effects," he said. "The only thing that I can say that happened was my left arm was a little sore for that day and the next day similar to how you might feel after a flu shot."

Beacon Health is one of the medical groups facilitating the vaccine rollout. Its officials said minor side effects are common, but not severe.

"We do know that a large number of people, probably about half, will feel tired," said South Bend Memorial Hospital Vice President of Medical Affairs Dr. Dale Patterson. "They may feel like they have a little bit of a viral syndrome, but they cannot get COVID from this shot because it does not have the virus in it."

Patterson said the most severe side effects come when someone has a history of allergic reactions to vaccines. He said those people should consult with their doctor before getting the vaccine.

"If someone has a history of anaphylaxis, particularly to a vaccine, they should be the people that talk to their doctor about these vaccines, but for the rest of the public and most people, these vaccines are very safe," Dr. Patterson said. "It would be extremely rare that we would expect someone to have one of those severe complications."

Mishler said dealing with the virus both on the frontlines as a nurse and as a vaccine recipient have left him with a message for the public.

"As soon as you are able to (get vaccinated), I strongly encourage folks to do that just so we can help start to relieve that surge and the pressure on our health care system," Mishler said.

Mishler said the best way to get back to any resemblance of how things were before the pandemic is to continue to mask up, social distance and wash your hands until the vaccine has a chance to run its course. He is scheduled for his second dose on January 19th.