Ladue students participate in

GOT VACCINATED?

Ladue students participate in COVID-19 vaccine trials

ZERU MARUT

news staff

Throughout the country, COVID-19 vaccines have been gradually rolled out since December, and in Ladue, some students have been participating in youth COVID-19 vaccine trials.

“My mom heard about it and next thing I knew, I had an appointment.” sophomore Macy Blucher said.

Blucher has been participating since Dec. 23, and the trial lasts about two years. In Blucher’s trial, both the participants and researchers giving shots don’t know whether the shot is a vaccine or a placebo.

“Once a week you have to fill out this form saying if you’ve had COVID-19 symptoms, and you have to check in with them every once in a while on an app,” Blucher said.

Blucher was signed up for the trial by her parents. While the trial seemed intimidating at first, Blucher found it easy to adapt.

“I’m not the biggest fan of needles, so I was definitely nervous,” Blucher said. “It wasn’t too bad though; they were really nice ... it was definitely a calming environment.”

With the help of the researchers, Blucher received her shots safely. However, she experienced some side effects with the vaccine.

“For the first shot, I just had a cold,” Blucher said. “The day after, I took Motrin for some soreness in my muscles and I was just fine. The second shot, I definitely felt worse ... and I woke up in the middle of the night with chills.”

Blucher had a similar experience to freshman Noah Belau, who also took part in a Pfizer trial. However, Belau took a more optimistic approach in regards to being a participant in the vaccine trial.

“I was kinda excited,” Belau said. “They’re paying us a lot of money, at least in a ninth-grader’s terms. I’m not worried about it; I kinda just see it as something passive that I don’t have to attend to much.”

Freshman Ovya Diwakaran is taking part in a trial similar to the ones Blucher and Belau entered. Her parents had heard about the trial, and Diwakaran signed up.

“The first time I went in they had a two-hour orientation where they went over what we’d have to do and what we’d be getting,” Diwakaran said. “Then I had to sign a bunch of forms saying that I’ll do all the work that’s needed or anything they ask me to do, and that I can drop out whenever I want to.”

Diwakaran took a COVID-19 test, had her blood drawn and later was given the shot. She joined the trial at the beginning of January.

“I don’t actually know if I got the vaccine or the placebo, and I won’t know for three months,” Diwakaran said. “But they basically gave me a shot and I had to log my symptoms for the next seven days.”

Diwakaran received two doses as part of the trial. Like Blucher, she felt apprehensive the first time, but was more excited than anything else.

“It was kind of scary because there were a lot of doctors and a lot of needles — a lot of stuff happening,” Diwakaran said. “But I was mainly excited, because if I did get the vaccine, then that [would be] really cool.”

Regardless of her initial fears, Diwakaran wasn’t worried, since her parents have already received the vaccine. Diwakaran took the vaccine to be a part of something greater.

“I wanted to do it because it felt like being part of a COVID vaccine trial is a really big part of history,” Diwakaran said. “I really wanted to be part of something that would be kind of revolutionary.” p

ABOVE: Freshman Ovya Diwakaran stands at the entrance to the COVID-19 vaccine trial room early January. In the trial she entered, half of the participants got placebos and the other half got the vaccine, although she doesn’t know for sure which she got. “After the second shot, I had almost all the symptoms, so I think that I got [the vaccine],” Diwakaran said. (Photo courtesy of Ovya Diwakaran)

SHOT TO SYMPTOMS

Steps participants had to follow during their COVID-19 vaccine trials

1Participants receive first of two shots

2Participants either receive COVID-19 vaccine or placebo shot

3

Participants may experience side effects such as muscle weakness, chills, fatigue or headache

4Participants have to log their symptoms (time varies based on specific trial)

5Participants receive second of two shots

illustration by | SOPHIA LIU