That’s how I felt the day I got my last shot.

Oh boy, finally, done!

Well, until I have to go back in six months for the Hepatitis A booster. That’s the only one that requires follow up as it is two jabs given six months apart — but don’t worry, you are fully protected after the first jab.

Hallelujah! Now I have started to research more places where I am protected. Can’t let all these jabs go to waste!

As part of my annual physical, my regular doctor gave me a the Tetanus Diphtheria Pertussis (TDAP) shot. Even though I had a TD shot just four years ago from a pedicure gone wrong, I guess there’s an outbreak of Pertussis in the US and it’s recommended to have the vaccine.

I was slightly, okay, very, nervous before every.single.jab.

I read the CDC VIS (Vaccine Information Statement) for each vaccine, and just before each jab I re-read it so I knew what to expect.

After each jab, I would be very aware of my body to see if something weird happened. After 24 hours passed, I could breathe easy.

I mean, what if they gave me the wrong vaccine? What if something went horribly wrong? What if I moved? What if it was expired?

And for those of you who know me, I asked all of these questions.

In fact, when I was getting the TDAP vaccine I asked my doctor so many questions that he just handed over the label from the TDAP bottle so I could take a look.

Of course when I got to a computer I Googled it and it and I noticed that the logo from the actual vaccine was slightly different from the logo on the pharmaceutical website. So of course I worried for a hot ten minutes that it was a fake.

Who does that?

But, just for the record, the shot that made me feel the worst…TDAP. I was under the weather for over a week. A WEEK!

And it was THE MOST NORMAL JAB TO GET. No problem with Typhoid or Yellow Fever. The TDAP.

It shocked me too.

In this process, I learned a lot about jabs so I wanted to share some additional information that I have learned along the way.

Hep A is a series of two shots. You can travel after the first but you need to get the second six months later.

Hep B is a series of three jabs, and you can travel after you have two, which are given a month apart. The third in that series is also six months later.

You may have had Hep B before entering university and from my research the efficacy can vary after 15 years. Me personally, I found out that I still have immunity to Hep B, so did not need to worry about this series. Which saved me hundreds of dollars.

If you do need both Hep A and Hep B you can get something called Twinrix, which is both shots in one. Same vaccination schedule as Hep B, but you are also getting the immunity to Hep A — with two less jabs. I found it to be a little more expensive but if you hate shots, like me, I think the extra cost would have been well worth it for three jabs versus five (ouch), especially if you are getting a full battery of jabs for your destinations.

Again, I’m not a doctor or a medical professional. I did a ton of research and asked A LOT of questions. But please, see your medical professional for advice for what is best for you and your situation.

Oh CDC. You and I have become best friends the past few months.

I know you have so much information it’s scary. I know where I can find your maps pointing out risk areas for various diseases I never heard of. I know you have the most updated VIS (vaccine information statements) for any vaccine I could ever imagine wanting to know anything about.

But if I can just say one thing, your VIS’ scare me just a little. I read the warnings before the jab, and then I’d read it a few hours after the jab to make sure I was still okay and not suffering from any of the possible side effects, no matter how miniscule the odds were.

You can Google CDC VIS [and whatever vaccine you are looking for information on].

Examples of my Google searches: ‘CDC VIS Typhoid’ and ‘CDC VIS Yellow Fever’ and ‘CDC VIS Meningococal’ etc.

Go on, take a look.

What’s the most obscure travel vaccine you’ve ever needed?