On Oct. 22, Moderna announced that it had completed enrollment in its trial. Many of the participants in the trial are right here in Houston, including Chris Owr.
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Owr is a teacher and coach in Fort Bend ISD, and he's a father of two.
Like many of us, COVID-19 has impacted his life in many ways, but what really struck him was seeing his wife who is is a nurse come from home from work.
"She worked with COVID-19 patients on weeks in and weeks out. She came home, there were about four to five days every single day that she came home crying, stressed because she saw patients pass away and there was nothing she could do about it," said Owr who is now participating in the Moderna trial.
So while trying to figure out a way he could help, Owr heard about the vaccine trials and signed up.
"At the end of the day, I'm here just being a servant," he said.
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Owr, like many Moderna participants, has already received both of the trial injections.
"Now we're seeing patients on their third visit, looking at drawing blood to determine whether or not we're seeing the types of antibody response that we're interested in, and we're also gathering more safety information. It appears it's fairly well-tolerated," said clinical research, investigator for the Moderna trial Dr. Fredric Santiago.
He said they will watch the participants to see if they develop any symptoms that can help show if the vaccines are working and if it's safe and effective.
"What you're trying to see is if there's a difference between the vaccinated group and the unvaccinated group with regard to how long they stay infected, the severity of their illness, whether or not they were hospitalized or whether or not they succumbed to the illness," said Santiago.
Owr said he's just grateful he can give back.
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"This is my way of helping. This is my way of just serving the community," said Owr.
There are other trials coming up. If you'd like to participate you can go to Houston Fights COVID-19.
Also, Baylor College of Medicine has upcoming trials as well. You can contact them at 713-798-4912 or email them at COVID-VAX@bcm.edu.
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