Vanesa Lopez
08/20/2020 - 12:26
- Clarín.com
- Society
Helping others, contributing "a grain of sand" to science, and having the chance to be immunized against the coronavirus are some of the reasons why 4,500 Argentines are volunteers in the clinical trial of the vaccine developed by BioNTech in collaboration with Pfizer .
At the end of July, some 15,000 people filled out an online form to apply. You had to be between 18 and 85 years old , live in the City or less than 60 kilometers, be healthy, not be pregnant, and not be breastfeeding.
Those selected received a call confirming that they were in the phase 3 clinical trial, one of the experimental stages that requires the development of a drug, and in which a large number of volunteers are evaluated.
In Argentina, the study -conducted by the infectologist Fernando Polack- is carried out in a single headquarters, the Military Hospital , a mass of 60,000 square meters located in Luis María Campos at 700.
The volunteers were summoned, with days and times. They have been going in batches since the start of the rehearsal, which was on August 10. On the day of the shift they do not have to make any special preparations, nor do they have to show up on an empty stomach.
In front of the Central Military Hospital, where the vaccination of more than 4,500 volunteers began. Photo Maxi Failla.
On Tuesday it was Rodrigo Afondo , a 40-year-old marketing graduate. "At 7:10 a.m. they picked me up with a car, they took me to the Military Hospital, they presented me with the documentation and gave me a kit with a mask, alcohol gel, a thermometer," he says.
“After they take you to a room, a doctor does the routine check-up (includes clinical evaluation and measurement of temperature, height and weight). And they read all the consent ”, continues Rodrigo.
“Then they did a blood draw. With waiting in the middle, they passed me to the part of the swab for the PCR ”, he continues. Thus, they verified that he did not have coronavirus.
“They took me to a room with 10 boxes and they gave me the vaccine. They put you looking at the wall and they don't let you see how they apply it to others and how they apply it to you. But it is a common puncture ”, closes Rodrigo.
Not everyone receives the vaccine . Only half of the participants get it and the rest are given a placebo in the form of an injection of physiological solution. The system is called "double blind": both the recipient and the administrator do not know what they are applying. That gives the test more objectivity.
At 71, Graciela volunteers in the clinical trial to test the vaccine against Covid-19.
The placebo is a substance without therapeutic action, whose purpose is to be able to compare the effects of the new drug in a random way. "In this way, we will be able to evaluate comparing the results in the two groupswhether the vaccine is effective in preventing COVID-19 ", explain the researchers at the application site.
Rodrigo had to stay half an hour to see if he had any reaction. Then they controlled him, released him, and took him back to his home in the Boedo neighborhood. In total, he was in the Hospital for four hours , but it does not seem to have bothered him. "They have perfect logistics," he enthuses.
About 500 people work in the research - 70 of them from the Military Hospital - including doctors, extraction specialists, nurses, administrative staff, logistics. They received special training for this study.
“My idea is to help from where I can . This is a major global problem, which is affecting everyone too much. In some cases, young people can have it easy. But in others it gets complicated, there are deaths ”, says Rodrigo.
For Griselda Cabrera , 52, the decision was more personal. “I am a dental assistant, I am in a place where many people circulate. I am exposed. And the truth is that volunteering seemed like a good opportunity to receive the vaccine, "he says.
To that, Griselda adds the "grain of sand" that she wants to contribute to society. "Of course it is welcome if it is useful for something, if it is useful for studies, to end this, which is crazy," she says.
The infectologist Fernando Polack with members of his team at the Central Military Hospital, where they are testing a vaccine against the coronavirus. Photo German Garcia Adrasti
He says he has uncertainty and fear, because "there is no trajectory of the vaccine, so we cannot know the long-term effects ." Although she also claims to have "hope" that it will be effective.
His first date was Sunday, a "good" experience according to his rating. “It is very clear what they are informing you and how they evacuate all the doubts that one has. For some things there are answers, for others there are not ”, says Griselda.
In her case - like all women under 60 - to the previous steps that Rodrigo commented, they added a pregnancy test .
On August 28 it will be the turn of Graciela , a 71-year-old woman who for "security" reasons prefers not to give her last name. She says she is "anxious" for her next adventure and assures that she is not afraid "nor dreaming."
A great radio listener, he learned about the existence of this essay by that means. "The Military Hospital is serious and the Pfizer laboratory is a lifetime, when I was little there were already Pfizer remedies," she says.
One morning when he woke up, he said: “ I'm going to sign up . Total, there are two vaccines. And what does a vaccine do to me? Nothing. It doesn't hurt, it doesn't bother me ”. She did so, despite the doubts of her daughter and the refusal of her eldest granddaughter.
"Do you know why I do it? Because I have my grandchildren who are going to need it, they are going to have to get that vaccine. I have many known and loved people. And I think a lot about the poor little ones ”, says Graciela.
Rodrigo Afonso shows his first dose of the vaccine. Photo Maxi Failla.
“Tomorrow, I don't know if it will be this vaccine or it will be another. Never mind. But all of us who do this do it for a purpose. In order to help and accompany ”, continues the woman who knitted 10 vests to donate.
In total, each volunteer will make about six visits to the Military Hospital. At the initial appointment they get the first dose (of vaccine or placebo). At 21 days they should return to apply the second and last dose.
Then come the controls. They must return to the Hospital the following month, six months, one year, and two years. They will be followed up clinically to evaluate the effects of the vaccine.
In addition, participants receive an app for their cell phone, which will be used for monitoring. Once a week, they should report if they have any symptoms such as fever or headache.
Volunteers do not receive money . They are covered with exclusive medical insurance, something they sign together with the consent. And they can leave the study whenever they want.
GS