While I can definitely relate to your using an abundance of caution, what about the side effects and complications? A sore arm for 36 hours is waaayyy on the low end of side effects. Your friends both got covid and lived, I've had covid and lived. I know dozens of people both healthy and immune compromised that have had covid and recovered just fine regardless of the vaccine. Tons of people who have taken the vaccine still got covid. We were lied to from the jump, manipulated and forced to take something against peoples better judgement. That is completely unfair and that's what I have a problem with. If you like the vaccine fine, take it all you want. But compelling people to do something to their body against their better judgement is just plain terrible.
I got Covid for the first time one month after my 7th booster last November. The symptoms were super mild, despite my being in my late 70's.
At first I thought it was just the sniffles, but after a couple of days, and since I had the home test I decided to find out, and to my surprise it showed positive for Covid.
I immediately phoned my pharmacy, told them about the positive test, and asked them about Paxlovid, which as far as I know is the most effective treatment available if taken early enough.
Apart from a very unpleasant metallic taste in my mouth from the pills, at the end of the 5 days of taking Paxlovid I tested negative, and the bad taste disappeared
But then a week later I experienced sniffles again, and tested positive for a second time. I phoned the pharmacy and they said that "rebound Covid" is not unusual for people who take Paxlovid, but there was no need to take it again.
A week later I was symptom free again, tested negative, and that was that.
Still I wonder how bad it would have been at my age if I had not been vaxxed.