CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - The first person to be a part of Cambridge-based Moderna’s phase three coronavirus vaccine trial spoke out for the first time about her experiences and said she hopes her contributions will help put an end to the pandemic.
Dawn Baker signed up to get the vaccine after her family doctor recommended she participate in the study. She said she has seen firsthand the effects of the virus in her community.
“I have friends and loved ones who have lost close family members, I know people who have passed away,” she explained.
Her doctor assured her beforehand that the vaccine was not a live virus, and that she would not get coronavirus from the vaccine.
“I had a mild headache and my vaccine arm was swollen, felt swollen, similar to when you get a flu shot, and I had one restless night that first night,” Baker said. “But other than that I’ve felt really good.”
She said the decision to participate was all to do with helping her community.
“It really had me feeling depressed, overwhelmed, wondering what I could do. Just hearing about the large number of people who were getting sick. Some mildly sick but many more severely ill,” she said.
Over the next two years, Baker will have to monitor her symptoms daily and will have multiple check-ins with a doctor to make sure she does not experience any side effects from the vaccine.
She said that to her, all this will be worth it.
“Hopefully this will be the answer we need to just stop all the suffering we’ve endured over the last several months.”
The Moderna vaccine is one of three that has made it to phase three testing in the US.
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