Within the study of the vaccine against J & J’s coronavirus: New Orleans reporter gives’ experience with ‘guinea pig’ Coronavirus

Two days after Hurricane Zeta swept through New Orleans, I stumbled through the dark corridors of a private medical research lab in Metairie for an appointment that could not be canceled.

The power was still out, but the vaccine study had to continue. Guided by the dim light filtering through a window, a nurse inserts a needle into my left arm and draws blood.

She takes enough to fill two dark red bottles. It was my small contribution to medical science, a multinational conglomerate and hopefully the end of the coronavirus pandemic.

Since October 1, I have been participating in a 44,000-person study on a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. The company announced Friday that the vaccine is 66% effective in preventing moderate to severe illness.

The study’s results were welcome news for anyone following the US shambolic vaccination campaign. Two safe and highly effective vaccines have already been approved on an emergency basis, but the US is struggling to deliver shots. It should help to have a third vaccination, especially since the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one shot and should not be stored in special ice-cold freezers.

This is more than anyone could have hoped for last summer. At the time, it was already clear that the pandemic would be more than a short-term crisis. New Orleans made heroic sacrifices and suffered horrific losses in the spring, but people elsewhere apparently thought the virus would never reach them.

I was frustrated by the country’s response, saddened by the human toll of the pandemic and demoralized for being cut off from friends and family.

So I started thinking about joining a study. In a time of general helplessness, it felt like I could do something to take back some power from the virus.

I was also fascinated by the science behind COVID-19 vaccines. I started reading the concepts of early-stage vaccine studies.

While two vaccines that have proven safe and effective have since been approved in the US, all of the candidates seemed to have their pros and cons. This reinforced one factor that emphatically did not play a role in my decision: money. While each study was handing out cash – $ 120 per visit in the case of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine – it did not seem enough to offset the risk of a rare reaction.

Fortunately, several vaccination candidates have already passed Phase I and II trials, where scientists are conducting initial safety tests.

According to the concept of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine since then, an altered cold virus is used to elicit a strong immune response. In July, regulators in Europe approved an Ebola vaccine on the same platform.

The day after I filled out an online form, someone from the research lab in Metairie called me to make an appointment. I drove to the clinic early on October 1st and thought I would be evaluated first.

Things went a little faster than that. I talked to a doctor about the risks. I read paperwork and signed it. In about an hour, a nurse inserts a needle into my arm.

She does not know if I get the right stuff or a placebo. Neither do I.

The next 30 minutes I sat on a couch in a waiting room. Lab employees wandered by to see if I had a severe allergic reaction. I checked my phone. Then it was time to go, with an envelope filled with $ 120 cash.

The most painful part of the whole process was getting one of the infamous “brain chiller” coronavirus swabs deep into my nose.

That night I got no fever or chills. My arm never hurt. After an awkward week, I thought I was in public. I’m not sure yet, but since there were no side effects, I suspect I got the salt water instead of the right thing.

Since then, I have been in the lab twice again. Both times, nurses drew my blood to test for coronavirus antibodies.

The dimly lit follow-up visit to the storm, which was furiously rescheduled from Oct. 29 to Oct. 30 to meet the study’s strict timeline, illustrates the overlapping disasters that made 2020 a year to remember in Southern Louisiana.

Except for the personal visits, I answered a single question on a smartphone app every Monday and Thursday. The question is always the same – do I have COVID-19 symptoms? – and the answer has always been no. So far.

The weirdest part about vaccinating rabbits is that you do not do much at all. In fact, I work with the researchers. My most important value to them is the chance that I may get sick, but I do my best to avoid the outcome.

I followed all the studies closely and am glad that the initial results of mine finally came out. The study lasts two years to see how long immunity lasts, which is an important question going forward.

But I hope Johnson & Johnson will take it to Moderna and Pfizer to “blind” the study quickly so that participants know if they got the right article and offer the vaccine at the right time for participants who received the placebo.

The company could outline its plans for the study to unfold next week when it files an emergency application with the FDA.