West Valley Brothers Take Part In Pfizer Trial For Children Over Age 6
May 18, 2021, 5:43 PM | Updated: 10:41 pm
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – Now that the Utah Department of Health said every Utahn older than 12 is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, attention shifts to the vaccine trials for kids from 6 to 11-years old.
While some families may still be hesitant, other families want the shots as soon as they can get everybody in the family vaccinated.
“I was willing to do anything to, first of all, donate to the cause, and secondly to get a vaccine in my arm as fast as I could,” said Angela Keddington, whose family has a good bit of experience with the vaccines.
She and her husband, Josh, are fully vaccinated, as are their older children. Now they are excited to enroll their boys, ages 10 and six, in the Pfizer trial for kids 6-11. Chaz and Tate have passed the pre-screening for the trial and will be enrolled soon.
“I want our life to get back to normal, and the only way that my life and my family will be back to normal is when we’re all vaccinated,” said Angela.
The boys have a 75% chance of getting the real shot, and a 25% chance of getting the placebo. The trial will follow the boys closely for several months, testing their antibody levels.
Data showed COVID-19 is not as tough on kids as adults but Angela is not comfortable letting her kids go without protection from the virus.
“I like what some of the doctors have been saying that just because they are low risk, doesn’t mean they are no risk,” she said.
The boys have homeschooled all year and miss their friends. They don’t know a lot about COVID-19, but they know they don’t want to catch it or pass it to anyone.
“They can get so sick that they die,” said 10-year-old Chaz.
They also know the vaccine is the way out of the pandemic.
“I know that if everybody gets it we can just return to normal life,” Chaz said.
“I want them to do the study to contribute to the data, and those things,” said Angela. “But I also want my kids vaccinated as soon as possible.”
Angela is a nurse and feels good about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines. Her family should know. They have plenty of experience with the COVID-19 vaccines, now.
“All seven of us in our immediate family have participated in a trial, now,” she said.
Everybody over 18 was part of the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine trial in December.
“We’re all still alive and so much happier than we were before it,” Angela said.
She’s also optimistic about the decline in cases since the vaccine arrived.
“The vaccines are what are going to bring us out of the pandemic and we need our kids, especially here in Utah,” she said.
The Keddington family held off on some plans because they want their boys vaccinated.
They know they’re getting closer.
