OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — COVID-19 vaccines are heading toward approval from the FDA, something that wouldn't be possible without trial participants willing to take the vaccine before approval.
Mike Adamowicz joined the Pfizer trial in August, unsure if he was receiving the vaccine or a placebo.
Adamowicz's doctor told him he has antibodies. His entire family was tested for antibodies. He was the only one in the family to be part of the trial, and the only one who has antibodies.
"Everybody has been tested periodically and we've all tested negative for COVID," he said. "So we came to the conclusion that I was probably vaccinated."
"The only thing I experienced was a slight fever (of less than 100 degrees)," he said. "I was a little bit achy and tired for like a day."
Kelsi Anderson, provost of Bryan College of Health Science in Lincoln, was also a participant in the Pfizer vaccine trial.
"I knew immediately I wanted to be a part of it," Anderson said. She said she viewed it as a way to help her colleagues on the front lines.
"A lot of people I know thought I was crazy," she said. They were worried the trial-phase vaccine could give her the virus.
"I know, as a microbiologist, that I was not going to get sick from the vaccine," she said.
Anderson reported minor chills the day after she received each of her two shots, but isn't sure if she received the placebo.
Adamowicz encourages everyone to get vaccinated for the coronavirus as soon as they can.
"I want people to know that before it comes out we really need to be careful and continue wearing masks," he said.
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