They Are Real Hero & Showing Strong Mental Health...

• 24 May
• 2021

They Are Real Hero & Showing Strong Mental Health...

• By Staff Writer

They Are Real Hero & Showing Strong Mental Health...

When Moderna began recruiting 12- to 17-year-old participants for its COVID-19 vaccine trial this year, Dr. Jay M. Lieberman, medical director at PRA Health Sciences, enrolled his 12-year-old twin daughters.

“[My] wife and I saw it as an opportunity to get them vaccinated against COVID-19. The vaccine was not yet available to that age group. We first talked about it in January when cases were still very high in the U.S., so the opportunity to get them vaccinated was the biggest draw,” Lieberman told Healthline.

He knew that as two of the 3,235 participants in the trial, his daughters would either receive the standard two-shot adult dose or a placebo. They also underwent nasal swabs and blood draws.

“[My daughters] are fully informed and got to ask questions, and they understood that this was a choice they have, that we were not going to force them to do it… they did it and I’m very proud of them for that,” Lieberman said.

When it became clear that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was on the verge of authorizing the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use in 12- to 15-year-olds, Lieberman asked Moderna to “unblind” his girls, or say which study group they were in so that if they had received the placebo instead of the vaccine, they could get vaccinated.

Because one daughter experienced a mild reaction after the second dose during the trial, including arm soreness and chills, Lieberman believes she received the vaccine. However, he thought his other daughter received the placebo because she didn’t experience any symptoms.

“We were thrilled to learn that they both had been vaccinated… and protected since late February, early March, and that’s exciting and reassuring, and it also tells something about the side effects profile in teens,” Lieberman said.

In addition to potentially getting vaccinated, both Lieberman and his wife, who is a hospital pharmacist, also felt their daughters’ participation in the trial could contribute to the advancement of science.

“Obviously, clinical trials need people to participate, so we saw it in a small way as a service,” Lieberman said.

The couple also felt their daughters would benefit from understanding what clinical research involves and how science advances.

“We’ve talked a lot about COVID, and how they’re going to tell their children and grandchildren about the pandemic. This is part of their story. I think they’ll look back at some point with pride that they played, admittingly, a very small role in how we dealt with and [found] a path to solving the pandemic,” Lieberman said.