Participant No. 15.

In what, you may ask? In UW Health’s Phase 3 vaccine trial against SARS-CoV-2, better known as “the COVID-19 virus.” Three weeks ago, I was given the AstraZeneca trial vaccine in my left arm.

Let me be clear — I did this completely voluntarily, and it has nothing to do with my being employed by UW Health, or working in health care. I sought them out and asked to participate. I get one of two reactions from the few I’ve mentioned this to: gratitude and thanks for being willing to help advance our collective efforts to ending this pandemic; or, a few are aghast and can’t believe I’d allow myself to be “experimented on” with a “rushed” vaccine.

To the first group, thanks. And to the second group, your imagined scenario is far from the truth. As someone who occasionally does research, I’m fully aware of the vast array of protections, cross-checks and rules that govern human subjects research in the United States. (Granted, most risk from my own research is paper cuts from our surveys — even then, there is a not-insubstantial review process.) Read more …