When my neighbor asked me if I’d gotten vaccinated (nonjudgmentally, in a just-making-conversation kind of way), I told her my second shot was scheduled for the next day. She asked which one, a topic of conversation that seems strangely -- or perhaps not so strangely -- popular these days.
I told her it was Moderna, but a modified version that might also protect me against the South African/Brazilian strains of the virus. It was also only 50 milligrams per shot instead of 100. I explained that I was part of a clinical trial being conducted by Emory University, which we live near.
And then she said something caught me by surprise. She thanked me.
I pointed out to her that I’m getting paid a little bit of money per shot, for each visit where I go in to let them take samples of my blood (six vials each time so far), and each time they call me to ask how I’m feeling, etc. As someone who is currently working on a dissertation for a Ph.D. in psychology, funds are scarce and this was an easy way to make a few extra dollars.
Also, as someone who is a self-professed science geek, I love the idea of being involved in any activity that helps generate new knowledge -- actual knowledge, not fake news or disinformation and conspiracy theories -- about the world. If it helps people in some way, well, that’s a bonus.
But when my neighbor thanked me, I have to admit it felt pretty good. Maybe the small part I’m playing in this research will eventually lead to a world in which COVID-19 and its variants no longer prove to be so tragic -- the recent news from India has been especially troubling.
It’s not like I’m doing all that much, really. I mean, I was going to get the normal Moderna vaccine anyway, and letting them take some of my blood isn’t that big a deal for me. I have good veins, so getting blood from me isn’t difficult (once, randomly, when I was working for a food truck at a music festival, a customer complimented me on my vascularity, which was a little weird until she explain to me that she was a nurse and noticed such things).
Emory is always conducting clinical trials for something. You can find out more at this web page: http://clinicaltrials.emory.edu/index.html
Stephen Antczak is a writer who lives in the Decatur area.
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