Oprah Winfrey 'Felt Like Superwoman' After Getting COVID Vaccine: 'Grateful Beyond Description'

Winfrey recalled that after "the first shot, I wanted to cry but didn't, just from the overwhelming sense of relief"

Oprah Winfrey. Photo: David Livingston/Getty Images

Oprah Winfrey is feeling "blessed" to be fully vaccinated.

In a personal essay for her new digital platform Oprah Daily, the media mogul, 67, reflected on the profound relief and joy she experienced after getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

As she reflected on how emotional she felt after receiving her first shot, Winfrey spoke about how her previous history with pneumonia had heightened her fears about contracting COVID-19.

"The first shot, I wanted to cry but didn't, just from the overwhelming sense of relief. I'd had pneumonia the previous year, and my lungs were still sensitive," she wrote. "I was very much afraid of the toll COVID-19 would take on me; it's why I was so super strict about the goings and comings of everyone in my space."

"After the second vaccination shot, I didn't feel well for about 30 hours. I had all the classic symptoms: fever, chills, lethargy. But it was such a small inconvenience to be protected against a virus that's killed so many," she added. "I thought a lot during that time about the more than half million people in this country who lost their lives because of this virus, and what they had to endure."

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Once the side effects of the vaccine wore off, Winfrey said that she felt like she had "been given a new lease on life" — although she's still being careful.

"Afterwards, I felt like superwoman," she wrote. "But it hasn't changed my habits. I've still gone nowhere other than to do the interview with Meghan and Harry."

Looking towards the future, Winfrey said that she "may have an outdoor taco party" after enough of her friends have also been vaccinated. "I'm not ready to whoop whoop just yet...but eventually, I will ease into group gatherings," she wrote. "For now, I'm just grateful beyond description to have the vaccine."

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