DETROIT – There are 11 coronavirus vaccines around the world in stage 3 clinical trials.
Each of those trails needs to recruit tens of thousands of volunteers. One couple who signed up said they’re doing it to make a difference.
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“My first thought was no, no, this is crazy. He has had health issues in the past. I consider him in the high risk category. Which is why we’re so freaked out about the whole COVID thing,” Ann Brooks said.
That was Brooks' reaction when her husband, Dave Gomez, told her he wanted to sign up for Phase 3 Moderna Vaccine Trial.
“It was, I don’t want to say scary, or really nervous, but it’s, ‘You’re getting this injection,’ you don’t know,” Gomez said.
The couple works together in real estate. They meet lots of different people and enter people’s homes, making them good candidates to test the vaccine.
The vaccine trails also need people of color to participate, communities that have been severely impacted by COVID-19.
Both Brooks and Gomez received their first of two doses.
Brooks said she doesn’t just want to be part of the solution, she also wants to witness the process.
“There are a lot of conflicting messages out there right now, and I need to know for myself that if something does come out that it is safe for me to take. I don’t want to get sick. I don’t want my friends to get sick,” Brooks said.
Neither has had any side effects and both said it felt like getting a flu shot. Brooks said when a vaccine is approved she hopes people will listen to the experiences of those who have participated in the trials.