The study is testing the safety and efficacy of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine on 2,000 children across the country aged 12 to 15 years.
Sophie Holland is one of about 100 children enrolled in the study through Duke.
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The 12-year-old girl does not know whether she received the vaccine or the placebo used in the study. But she said she had side effects after the second dose, so she believes she got the vaccine.
“About 10 to 12 hours after I got it, I had chills and a fever the next day,” said Holland. “But it wasn’t too bad. It only lasted a few days and then it was over.”
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Holland’s father Thomas is an infectious disease doctor at Duke.
“I think mRNA vaccines have been shown to be very, very safe in millions and millions of doses in adults,” said Dr. Holland. “So, I felt pretty good about the likely safety profile in your age group as well.”
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“I feel happy to be contributing to all the science and stuff, and when I heard about it, I realized it could be risky because we didn’t know much about how it affects children, but I realized that what we need to do to learn more about it , is to participate in the test, “said Sophie Holland.
Holland draws blood and nose swabs every few weeks as part of the trial.
“That’s all I’m proud of and I’ve been with her on each visit and I’ve watched her do these things and that’s part of her contribution to science,” said Holland.
They are no longer enrolling children in the study.
Duke hopes to participate in the next phase of the study for children under 11. You can start this spring.
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