CHESTERFIELD, Mo. — Melissa Kraemer is a wife and mother of two young boys.
She works full-time.
But, she felt compelled to call Pfizer.
She wanted to be one of more than 40,000 participants in a COVID-19 vaccine trial.
Now in phase 3, Pfizer’s labs in Chesterfield are on track to produce the first vaccine in the world.
Kraemer said she enrolled in the trial three weeks ago.
She says she had a 2.5 hour appointment filled with questionnaires, medical tests and blood work. At the end of the appointment, she got the first dose of the two-dose vaccine.
5 On Your Side asked her how she felt after the first dose.
“I had about 100.3 fever and the worst chills I have ever had. I don't know that I've actually ever had chills before, so maybe they were just memorable for that. For about seven or eight hours, but by the time I went to bed that night, the temperature was going down. The next morning I woke up, everything was totally back to normal,” she said.
Kraemer said the symptoms were bad enough she had to call and report them to Pfizer researchers.
“They said, ‘OK, well, that sounds like it’s not a reaction to saline, which is what the placebo is.’”
Kraemer is awaiting her second dose.
She says the fact that it’s not a live vaccine calmed most of her initial worries about participating.
“I was not all that nervous and honestly the blood draws and the COVID test was worse than having the actual injection, and maybe even worse than the side effects the next day,” she said.
She says her reason for volunteering is two-fold.
“This time in our memories right, will be such a fascinating time to look back on in history. I did like the idea of thinking I was a small part of that, a very small part of that. I was on of those 40 thousand that helps make this be faster. And selfishly, I’m tired of this.”
Kraemer’s parents are also participants in phase 3 of the Pfizer vaccine trial. Her mom is a nurse who will likely be administering COVID-19 vaccines when they become available.
