If you want a chance to get the vaccine early, search for a phase 3 trial of a vaccine near you and try to enter if you can, and they may even pay you to do it. I got in the Johnson and Johnson phase 3 trial and got the shot the end of November. I reacted to the shot so I know it wasn’t the placebo, and I had pain at the injection site, was tired for a few days, and had some nerve pains mostly in my legs, but overall it hasn’t been that bad. Still having some nerve sensation mostly at night, but again not that bad.
To start the process I had to answer questions online, then it told me I qualified and gave me an address where it would be done and that they would call me - but I called them and made an appointment. The first appointment was 3 to 4 hours, with lots of questions and explanations and forms, blood draw and nasal swab but the swab was shallow and not the deep painful one I’ve heard about. Then they gave me a shot of vaccine or placebo and made me wait 15 minutes to be sure I was ok to drive home.
They also gave me an app on my iPhone that I check in on Mondays and Thursdays to answer a question if I have had any Covid symptoms- if you answer no, that is all you enter so it is quick, if you answer yes then there are more questions and you start using the self testing equipment they give you - thermometer, pulse ox reader, and nasal swab test kits which they pick up at your home to analyze.
30 days latter I had my second appointment and they asked me a few questions and took a blood draw. It took about an hour. And they told me that I didn’t have antibodies in my blood they took during my first appointment- which if I did you wouldn’t think they would want me in the trial.
They say that 99% of those that get the vaccine have antibodies after 29 days. They were planning on enrolling 60,00o people from different countries but reduced that to 40,000 because there’s so much virus circulation that they will get the exposures they need with 40,000 people. But they started a second trial to learn if the results will be better with two shots 30 days apart (my trial is one shot). I’ve got friends in both trials.
It has been a good experience for me and it is reassuring to know I probably have been vaccinated. I’m still careful and wear the mask and take the same precautions.
You can search at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02194699
You can sign up for Johnson & Johnson trials at: https://www.ensemblestudy.com//?utm_...enwQAvD_BwE#!/