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I climb the stairs of one of those unremarkable glass and brick office buildings on Forest Avenue, have my temperature checked and my wrist wrapped in a purple Tyvek bracelet stamped with DAY 57.
I’m one of 1,800 volunteers in the two-year AstraZeneca/University of Oxford COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial being conducted by Richmond-based Clinical Research Partners (CRP). It’s the largest AstraZeneca vaccine study site in the world in terms of participants.
I decided to participate because an old friend, Dr. Robert Call, is president/medical director of CRP, and he needed volunteers. Though my commitment lasts until 2023, volunteers may drop out at any time for any reason.
In recent months, I’ve received two injections, had blood taken and my nose swabbed regularly. On each visit, I’m greeted by the trial’s friendly staff, a collection of CRP employees and other medical professionals borrowed from area hospitals. Friends and family with necessary talents have pitched in, too. By now, some recognize me even with my mask, and I’ve learned who the more experienced vein stickers are. I’m in and out in 15 minutes, and I get an alert on my phone that they’ve loaded my $100 stipend on my payment card after each visit.
At my first visit in November, I spent an hour reading the consent materials, then nearly another hour having them read to me, then signed many pages, all to say I’m aware of the risks, including contracting Guillain-Barre syndrome and worse. I learned that, unlike some vaccines, this one does not contain any of the coronavirus.
Call, an allergist and clinical immunologist who co-founded CRP 10 years ago with CEO Annette Bennett, explains, “This vaccine is a chimpanzee adenovirus that cannot reproduce and makes spike protein that occurs on the outside of the COVID virus, so our immune system can make antibodies against that spike protein which allows us to find and kill COVID viruses.”
This trial is categorized as Phase III because it’s measuring the efficacy of a new vaccine and comparing it to a placebo (saline solution). Because the trial is double-blind, neither volunteers nor CRP staff know who is getting the vaccine and who’s getting a placebo. I think I received the placebo in both injections because I had zero side effects. Others have had fever, chills and other symptoms for 24 to 36 hours as their bodies reacted to vaccine.
Once the study is over, or if we choose to exit, or the Food and Drug Administration approves AstraZeneca’s vaccine, our files can be “unblinded” to reveal to participants whether we were given the vaccine. CRP will then vaccinate those of us who received the placebo.
On my way out, I stop to talk to Dr. Call. While he’s conducted hundreds of drug trials, he says, “This one has given us a great opportunity to help humanity. The most unique and heartening aspect of the experience for us has been seeing how willing people are to participate in this particular study.”
