novavax vaccine trial - anyone else?

[Frazzled2207]

Have just had the call and am going tomorrow. Very excited. Anyone else doing this?

@Frazzled2207

Other than sore arm has anyone actually had any symptoms at all? If we’re all symptom free then chances are some of us did actually get the ready thing. My arm was barely sore at all though. Less so than the last time I got a vaccine - possibly for whooping cough when I was pregnant

Husband went for his second vaccine on Friday. He had zero side effects after the first one, not even a sore arm. He said this at the clinic as he was convinced he had the placebo cos of no side effects, and the Dr said everyone they had injected so far has said the same thing.

After the second one he is suffering a little bit. His arm is really sore, he says he feels a bit achy all over, so now he is not so sure. You are injected with more vaccine/placebo the second time but he is feeling rough, so I have told him to call them to log the side effects he is getting.

My first jab was on Oct 20th. Zero side effects. Not even a sore arm. By the time I got home I couldn't even see where it went in.

(I always get a huge, hot, pink, sore patch after my flu jab.)

We had tea and biscuits in Leeds.

My first appt was 3.5 hrs. I'm glad to hear the second will be much quicker.

So I've just had my Covid result, or non-result. It was inconclusive. I've rung and left a message and sent an email to the trial team. Has anyone else had this issue?

@vargas
Not specific to the trial no but I know inconclusive results are quite common. I suppose they might ask you to do another one.

@Frazzled2207 Ok, thanks for that, I didn't realise. I'll wait to hear back from the trial team.

@vargas
My nurse friend who tests her colleagues and vv reckons about 1 in 20 are inconclusive. Just didn't get enough mucus on the stick for whatever reason.

So much for the optimism re it being shorter. I was there for just under 2 hours today but it was very busy with a mix of people there for 1st and 2nd appointments. Next one for me is 20th November.

No side effects so far really. Feel a little warm, and had the metallic taste again, but not much else. I think last time it was the next day my arm was particularly sore.

One reassuring thing was the level of care we'll get if we do get COVID in terms of assessment and follow up, and making sure that we get support for longer term recovery etc.

@andadietcoke
Pleased it went ok despite being slow.

What is the next appointment? Blood test?

[quote Frazzled2207]@andadietcoke
Pleased it went ok despite being slow.

What is the next appointment? Blood test?[/quote]
Yes I think so, although no one explicitly said that!! Everyone was so lovely, as last time.

@ramblingsonthego did your DH ring? What did they say? My arm is very painful but I had a muscle spasm when she was injecting me so I wonder if it's related to that rather than the vaccine per se. I was just about ready to ring the trial team because it was so painful (brought me to tears painful) but have taken ibuprofen and will see how I go because I know they'll probably say 48-72h side effects are normal.

oh no hope it gets better overnight @andadietcoke

Not on a trial but wanted to say thank you for those that are taking part. You're all one of the reasons we can hopefully get back to some normality.

@ItsNotPinkItsSalmon

Not on a trial but wanted to say thank you for those that are taking part. You're all one of the reasons we can hopefully get back to some normality.

You're welcome! Glad to be doing something useful and having something positive to focus on.

We're all having to make sacrifices for each other; for those we love and for complete strangers.

We'll get there!

[quote Frazzled2207]@andadietcoke
Pleased it went ok despite being slow.

What is the next appointment? Blood test?[/quote]
I’ve got appointment no.3 on Friday, was told it would be just a blood test.

Looks like I might have been lucky with my second appointment being so quick. I was booked in for 1.30 so I’m wondering if it was because I was the first appointment of the afternoon so first on the list.

@Vargas

I had my first appointment today, London. It all ran very smoothly and took pretty much exactly 2 hours as they said in the email. The doctor and the nurse I saw seemed very 'up'. The lovely nurse had just started on the trial and seemed really keen to be there and taking part. I didn't see many other people, perhaps 4 or 5 but they were all white and female and over 40!!

The nurse told me that they still want more volunteers, which goes slightly against the emails I have seen saying that there are more than 200,000 volunteers.

My arm is slightly sore now, similar to any vaccine I've had before, and DH has confirmed that I haven't yet grown a second head . I didn't love doing the Covid swab myself, and as the nurse said, it was putting the sample posting box together that is the most challenging part of the whole trial!

I did have to laugh when they presented the ruler as an amazing gift, I have about 7 of those at home already.

I got the email from our study to say they had finally taken on the 450th person. I think around 7500 applied. I know certain illnesses mean you cant take part , Parkinsons and M.S. are 2 of them but there must be more. I was told by a radiologist that some applicants were having liver ultrasounds before being accepted in the study too.

@andadietcoke, did your Dr say that the vaccines wont be licenced until October??

Has anybody mentioned on social media that you're taking part in a trial? I did , in the hope somebody else would be interested and I could tell them how to apply.
Instead I got a comment saying that this person would not be getting it as it had not been tested for long enough and their could be any side effects !

Slightly off topic, but is anybody having luck in getting the flu vaccine. I've been looking for 3 weeks at Sainsburys and Boots. It's not easy to get everywhere as I dont have a car.

I've been trying for weeks for a flu vaccine with no luck. My employer decided this was the year to stop giving them!

@Torvean32 no - that's the end of the trial so it was in the context of everyone being unblinded and then the placebo group wanting to a vaccine if they hadn't been eligible for one sooner.

I've got my flu vaccine booked for the end of the month. Lloyds released some corporate bookings the week before last. Dr Baxter said yesterday though that 2 million doses had come from the US so that should start to filter through. One protocol change is that it now only has to be a week after Novavax not two.

[quote andadietcoke]@ramblingsonthego did your DH ring? What did they say? My arm is very painful but I had a muscle spasm when she was injecting me so I wonder if it's related to that rather than the vaccine per se. I was just about ready to ring the trial team because it was so painful (brought me to tears painful) but have taken ibuprofen and will see how I go because I know they'll probably say 48-72h side effects are normal. [/quote]
No he wouldn't ring! Although on his trial contact card it did say if you get side effects for the first 7 days after vaccine then not to ring so I relented a bit. He now isn't sure if he got the placebo when he was convinced from the first injection due to no side effects. This time the side effects did hit him but we will have to wait and see. He goes in 2 weeks for his day 35 follow up and blood test.

@ramblingsonthego that's what I thought! I think they're so confident of the safety profile of the vaccine that they're really only worried about COVID symptoms. Hope he feels better soon!

Hi! This is such an interesting thread. I signed up via the Zoe app and got a screening call on a Thursday, and was in hospital the following Tuesday getting the tests and "vaccine". I was pretty convinced I had the placebo after round one- it even looked like it had been mocked up to be "medicine" and was a greedy/aqua colour. I had no reaction at all at the injection site, and not even a slight feeling of malaise or sore glands or signs that my immune system was doing anything in the days and weeks after. Interesting to read that some people who experienced the same have gone on to have reactions with the second dose! I hadn't realised the second dose was larger either. Back next week for round 2 (ding ding) and will report back.

@CardinalCat
Ooh that’s interesting mine - I def also think I had placebo- most definitely clear liquid though. I was told there was no way the nurses knew which was which!

[quote Frazzled2207]@CardinalCat
Ooh that’s interesting mine - I def also think I had placebo- most definitely clear liquid though. I was told there was no way the nurses knew which was which![/quote]
The nurse who injected me said they (the injectors) were the only ones in the room who DID know which was which. They were working behind a screen.
I didn't look to see what colour it was! I'll look for my second jab next week.

Ours had a sticker over the syringe so you couldn't see what colour it was. I thought it was nurse blinded too.

Same side effects as last time so far - neck and back pain and sore arm. Metallic taste yesterday.