With Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine being administered across the United States and Moderna’s vaccine under consideration for emergency authorization, there is a palpable sense that science has delivered. Yes, there have been remarkable breakthroughs, but the work is not done. Vaccine rollouts signal the eventual end of the coronavirus crisis, but many clinical trials are just getting started.
These remaining trials are so important that I’ve decided to participate in one.
When vaccine trials began, I wasn’t eligible to volunteer. None of the initial trials enrolled pregnant women or those who were breastfeeding, and I was still nursing after giving birth in April.
As the months went by, I heard many volunteers talk about how they wanted to do everything they could to fight the pandemic. For me, it was particularly compelling to hear about people who are racial and ethnic minorities taking part to try to ensure there was adequate representation for vaccines to help their communities. Their participation also demonstrated trust in institutions that once caused their groups great harm.
By the time I stopped breastfeeding, Pfizer and Moderna had released their exceptional preliminary data. I had no qualms about taking these vaccines. Still, I was eager to enter a trial because there is an urgent need to develop more vaccines. For the U.S. population to reach “herd immunity,” at least 70% of the population must be vaccinated. Vaccine production is the limiting factor, so we will get there much faster with multiple vaccines.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Anthony Fauci agrees. In a phone interview, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told me the goal was never to stop at two vaccines, even if they were found to be safe and extraordinarily efficacious. “We need at least several more vaccines if we are to get enough doses to vaccinate the overwhelming majority of the country,” he said, “which is hopefully what we will accomplish and get a good umbrella of immunity.”
“We also need vaccines for the rest of the world,” he added. Wealthier countries have purchased a substantial proportion of the initial expected vaccine supply, and a much greater supply of other vaccines is necessary to truly control the spread of covid-19.
Fauci raised the question of whether it’s ethical to keep conducting trials if two vaccines already appear to work well. “If these vaccines are available tomorrow to everybody that wanted it, then we might have trouble with new placebo-controlled trials. But it’s going to take a while to get the rollout of the vaccines that we have,” he said. Because all the vaccines are new, it isn’t clear which vaccine might impart longer-lasting immunity, which is also important to research.
Additional rigorous studies could help identify whether a specific vaccine is best for a certain population. Older people, for example, or those with an underlying medical condition may benefit more from one vaccine over another. There have been a few cases of allergic reactions to the Pfizer vaccine; more studies may reveal whether people who are allergic to a component of one vaccine could take another.
I looked online to find clinical trials near me. The one with the most convenient location was a Johnson & Johnson trial. This vaccine is being tested as a single dose, a considerable advantage over most other coronavirus vaccines, which require two doses. It’s stored at standard refrigerator temperatures, which also makes it an attractive candidate for widespread distribution in lower-income countries.
To be clear, I could have just as easily volunteered for another vaccine trial. I have no inside information or other insights to suggest that the Johnson & Johnson candidate might be safer or more effective than another. And to avoid any potential conflict of interest with my writing and reporting, I am donating the study compensation to Health Care for the Homeless and the Maryland Food Bank.
I entered an arm of the trial that’s studying whether a second dose of the vaccine increases protection beyond just the one. So far, I’ve received the first of two injections. It’s a randomized and blinded study, so neither I nor the person who administered the shot know whether I got the vaccine or the placebo.
I have a history of severe allergic reactions to penicillin and to peanuts, but I didn’t have a reaction to the injection or any other side effects. I’m completing a symptom questionnaire twice a week and am scheduled to receive the second dose two months after the first.
This is how science works. Science has gotten us to the point where we can see an end to this pandemic.
How quickly we get there will determine how many lives can be saved. That depends on the speed of research. I am glad to take part in the scientific process, and I encourage others to join me.
Wen is an emergency physician and visiting professor at George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. Previously, she served as Baltimore’s health commissioner.