Trial by fire
COVID-19 vaccine trial a go for Farragut Rotary couple
Megan said the study was in the beginning of a Phase III clinical trial by Volunteer Research Group at the University of Tennessee Medical Center.
“I saw it through one of the news channels. … I just couldn’t stop thinking about it, and prayed about it, and we kept talking about it,” she said. “… We just felt we were called (to take the risk). My husband and I are healthy and in good shape, and our kids will have to take (the final vaccine). I’d like to know it’s OK.”
Moreover, “How else are we going to function like we used to (unless there is a vaccine)?” Megan asked.
“We’re very pro-vaccine — (the testing) is kind of right up our alley — but we’ve never done anything like this, and we’re not big risk takers,” she added.
“I did as much research as I could. Of course, with the virus, there isn’t a lot known about the vaccine, so there’re risks associated with getting sick, and there’s risks associated with taking the vaccine.”
Megan was the first to make the phone call to Volunteer Research Group.
“They were so nice. There was no pressure,” she added. “At first, they suggested a Phase I trial, I said, ‘No, no, no, I don’t want to do that.’ It was the Janssen vaccine, and I hadn’t read anything about that.”
The Volunteer Research Group representative said, “‘We are going to be enrolling for the Moderna vaccine next week. It’s got a similar design to Pfizer,’” Megan recalled.
“Both of those (vaccines) have been on my radar,” she added. “It’s a relatively new type of vaccine, evidently.”
From her research, she learned “the vaccine basically is instructions for your body to create something that looks like the virus, so then it creates this little protein. Then you body creates the antibodies.”
She also learned there were two trials prior to the phase in which Megan participated that tested the safety of the proposed vaccine and dosages.
“By the time they got to me (in the Phase III trial), they had already decided the dosage and side effects,” Megan said.
And, “Pfizer has also had some results where it’s been boosting T cell response, so I was real excited about that,” she added.
“That (phone call) was on a Friday,” with the calling saying, ‘Actually, we’re enrolling right now for Pfizer. Do you want to come in tomorrow?’
“I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, this thing got really real really fast,” Megan said.
However, Megan recalled they told her exactly what to expect when she arrived for the test Aug. 5.
“It’s going to take four hours,” she said. “They did blood work, they tested me for COVID, I had a physical and they went over all the ins and outs of what to expect.
“The lady who coordinates everything … her family was coming in later in the week to participate in the trial,” Megan added. “She said the whole department from the hospital had participated. It just really put me at ease.”
She was explained the test was a double-blind study.
“We don’t really know for sure whether I got the vaccine, Damen got a vaccine or whether we both got the placebo, except my arm hurt like crazy,” Megan said. “I had the injection on a Wednesday, and it finally stopped hurting Monday.
“It didn’t impact my activities or anything like that, but it was noticeably sore.”
Megan also had a low-grade fever, body aches and chills, but still was able to continue through her days.
By the following Saturday, she was “100 percent back.”
Throughout the tests, Megan recalled, “I felt very safe.”
While she had some criticism from people in the community who learned about her participation in the trial, she pointed out, “There are risks with any vaccination.”
To learn about participating in the vaccine trials, call 865-305-3784.
