Utah Nurse Tests 2nd Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Dose, Describes Side Effects
Feb 16, 2021, 6:27 PM | Updated: 11:22 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A Utah woman said getting a second shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as part of a drug trial hit her hard with a few side effects.
Angela Keddington is taking part in a drug trial for that second shot. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is currently given with one dose.
Angela Keddington is taking part in Johnson & Johnson's 2-dose trial. (Their vaccine is only one dose for now). She's convinced she got the actual vaccine, because of side-affects she experienced with each dose. What she went through, and why she feels it's worth it. @KSL5TV 6pm pic.twitter.com/y5VVY3VsuG
— Mike Anderson (@mikeandersonKSL) February 16, 2021
She experienced side effects both times, but she said it’s worth taking part if it means more people will get vaccinated at a faster rate.
“This ability to have this vaccine so quickly is actually a huge gift for all of us,” she explained.
Keddington is a nurse, so she could have been vaccinated earlier with the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine. She said she is happy to figure out whether two doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could be more effective than just the one.
She said the side effects from the shot convinced her she did not get a placebo.
“The first time I woke up about 12 hours after the shot and I was having body aches, a low-grade fever,” Keddington said.
We’ve seen with the Moderna and Pfizer shots that the second dose can pack a bigger punch.
“The second time, about 10 hours after, I started getting, like, really bad leg aches and then I got all of those symptoms again. But they were more severe this time,” she described.
She was out sick for one day. “I had a headache that whole day, took some ibuprofen that night,” she said.
She was still tired the next day but said it’s better than taking a chance with COVID-19. “A hundred percent, I feel like – I have a friend that’s similar to my age, that was flat in bed for three weeks with COVID.”
She’s hopeful that as more vaccines become available our lives can start to return to what they used to be. “I also haven’t seen my extended family for over a year now, so, I mean we’ve seen each other, but not the way we used to,” she said, getting emotional.
“I’m really excited to be able to have my married child over again without having to worry about exposure on either end, and being able to see my parents again and concerts and games, and just being able to just go about normal life,” she added.
She said once that vaccine becomes available she will find out for sure whether she received a real vaccine or a placebo.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine had a reported 65% efficacy rate with a single dose.
