My Experience with Evusheld

Throughout my time attending Colorado State University, I lived in Fort Collins, CO, and went to National Jewish Health in Denver for my medical care. I had multiple doctors there that helped me with my various health problems.

When the COVID outbreak began, I had even more things to worry about, since I am immunocompromised. There were so many uncertainties, and I needed to trust my doctors that they would help me through it. It was definitely a difficult time, because I was also dealing with swollen lymph nodes, which lead me to believe that I had cancer. I was having multiple biopsies, all while COVID was still running rampant.

Discovering Evusheld

One day, in January of 2022, I took the hour and a half trip down to Denver for a doctor’s appointment, where my doctor told me that I qualified for a new COVID preventative drug called Evusheld. They were just about to start administering it at the hospital, and while I was really scared, I was excited about the opportunity. I had gotten the two vaccine shots, but not the booster yet.

The only catch – it hadn’t been FDA approved yet. But, I had already gotten COVID twice, and after taking my blood, it was discovered that my body didn’t make antibodies or build immunity against it. The last time I had COVID, it was awful. I had a horrible fever, so bad that I was having chills and was completely in a fog. I couldn’t breathe very well and it took a while for my lungs to get better. It definitely was scary for me, and I didn’t want to risk getting it again.

Extra defense against COVID

The thought of getting COVID yet again was also terrifying because I recently received Truxima, which can decrease the immune system. It seems counterintuitive, but I needed Truxima to help me combat the swelling of my lymph nodes. I needed some kind of extra defense, and this new drug seemed to be the best option.

So, I got a hotel and stayed another night in Denver. The next morning, I was the second person in the whole hospital to get the shot! I felt really special, but I was also kind of stressed out because I didn’t know what to expect.

I had horrible bags under my eyes, but at least I had my coffee

Receiving the shot

Much to my surprise, Evusheld is a shot above the butt, which you can imagine is not that fun. It was painful but totally worth preventing a COVID infection in my body!

I had to go back and get a second dose, and I’ve been cruising ever since. If you or a loved one is immunocompromised, this is a great way for you to get your life back since the pandemic took so much.

Read more about Evusheld here. There is a lot of information out there, so I would definitely ask your doctor about it. A lot of the details about how it works go over my head.

For me, there weren’t really any notable side effects. It is said that there may be irritation around the site, but I personally didn’t have any. Other people may have experienced totally different side effects, though!

I’m glad that Evusheld was developed and that I took the chance to get it! It’s a great way for immunocompromised patients to feel safe in the uncertain world 🙂