How should you get your vaccine?
This older paper from USA (2022-02-09) reports that 90 minutes of light/moderate exercise immediately after getting an immunization can boost antibody levels without causing more/worse side effects! This was true for COVID-19 (Pfizer), H1N1, and seasonal influenza shots, and based on a comparison with controls who did not do the immediate exercise. Note that the exercisers and the no-exercise control group were all people who exercised regularly.
This paper from UK (2021-12-04) says you should get vaccinated in the morning.
I once said that this paper from USA (2024-01-16) showed that you should switch which arm you get vaccinated in. However, since then, I found this paper from Germany (2023-08-11) which says that same-arm vaccination was slightly better!
Which vaccine should you get?
The one you can. The differences in the vaccines is minor compared to the different vaccination histories, infection histories, and genetics.
Having said that, the Moderna vaccine seems to be slightly more effective, but it also seems to usually hit people harder. The Novavax vaccine seems to have the fewest side effects, but is harder to get (sometimes MUCH harder to get — in Jan 2025, you need to go to the USA to get it).
Which is safest?
The vaccines available in Canada have been tested in literally billions of people, they are all very safe. Are they 100.000000% safe? No — but all of them are safer than getting COVID-19.
How often should I get a vaccination?
Vaccines wane significantly by the four month mark, and they are more effective the more time there is between them. I haven’t seen any papers which look at if there is a time at which it doesn’t help to wait any longer, but this page from US CDC suggests waiting three months after an infection before getting a vaccination.