Pfizer Trial Participant : ‘My Fever Rose And My Arm Swelled Up’

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — 66-year-old Anne Nelson, an author and researcher at New York’s Colombia university, lost two of her close friend to coronavirus and searched for a way to be involved in the fight against the virus. When she saw an ad asking for volunteers to participate in the Pfizer trial group for a vaccine, Anne decided that this was her opportunity. In a Yediot Aharonot interview, Anne said that “I read about it and saw an ad on Facebook, so I contacted them in September. I wasn’t in touch with the other participants. They did a general check up on me, measured my temperature, checked my medical history and asked me about habits which could expose me to the virus.”

Nelson said that they were happy when she reported that she goes to the Savoy and does shopping as “there’s no point in doing the experiment on somebody who is not exposed to the virus.”

More than 43,000 people from six countries participated in Pfizers’ clinical trial. This was the third and final stage in the development of the vaccine before it is mass-produced. 160 participants contracted coronavirus. Nelson described what happened to her after receiving the experimental vaccine.

“The day after I received the first shot, on the 12th of October, my temperature rose  and my arm swelled up where I received the shot . These were the indications that I had received the vaccine itself and not a placebo.”

After receiving the second round on November 2nd, Anne said that “my fever rose to 39 degrees, more than I had for a number of years. My arm hurt a lot. I didn’t feel sick but did feel very tired, and this was another proof that I got the vaccine.”

Nelson added that “the next day I felt better. In the spring I lost two good friends to this awful disease and outside my office at Colombia University there was a truck carrying the huge number of dead being removed from the hospital. I feel privileged to contribute a small part in the effort to curb this pandemic.”

Other participants also reported side effects from the vaccine. Carry, a 45-year-old from Missouri, told the British newspaper the Daily Mail that she had headaches, fever and body pain. After the second shot the symptoms became more marked but later receded.

Pfizer’s vaccine relies on mRNA technology used in cancer-based therapies. Most other vaccines are based on deadened or weakened versions of the virus but the current vaccine causes the body to create viral protein and this in turn causes an immunological reaction of the body.