Commissioner Maggi received COVID-19 vaccine in Pfizer trial
Washington County Commissioner Larry Maggi was “relieved and happy” when he learned in mid-December that he had received the COVID-19 vaccine as part of Pfizer’s research into inoculating people from the coronavirus.
At the time he received his first shot on July 29 and a booster on Aug. 21, he didn’t know whether he had been given the vaccine or a placebo as part of Pfizer’s research trial.
But he received a phone call Dec. 14 telling him he had been “unblinded” in the trial and that he had indeed received the vaccine. Maggi returned to Columbus, Ohio, where his research trial is being conducted, in early January and again Wednesday to fill out paperwork and give blood samples as he offered to continue undergoing antibody tests for another 18 months to see how long the vaccine will last.
“I was excited, glad I was part of that,” Maggi said of hearing that he had been vaccinated. “But I wanted to be careful – especially now with how people are scared as they’re trying to get the vaccine and we’re having problems with the rollout – to not make it appear that I got ahead in the line.”
After receiving his shots, Maggi regularly returned to Columbus for testing and kept a journal of how he was feeling each day. Now, there are discussions about whether another booster shot will eventually be needed to offer longer protection and prevent from coronavirus variants, making Maggi’s continued participation in the trial critical.
“That’s just a possibility,” Maggi said of a third shot. “That’s a continuation in the study to see how long the antibodies are good. They may be doing a third shot with the variants or to boost the shots that you did get to last longer. It appeared to me that’s all still in flux.
“I just felt like this was all in motion and all still being played out and they’re making calculated decisions on how to continue forward,” Maggi said of his continued participation in the trial.
Since Maggi did not initially know if he had received the vaccine or a placebo – or if the disease could still be transmitted even after inoculation – he continued to follow safety protocols by physically distancing from others and wearing a mask in public. He said he was careful and will continue to be cautious in order to protect his wife, Mary Jeanne, along with their family and his co-workers at the county.
“I still didn’t take any chances. I didn’t know if I could transmit it,” he said. “They weren’t sure about it.”
Maggi missed Wednesday’s board of commissioners agenda meeting so he could return to Columbus to have his antibodies tested and fill out the required paperwork to continue in the trial. He said it’s been a rewarding experience for him to help find one of the vaccines that are now being used to inoculate the public and put an end to the pandemic.
“To be a part of (the research group) who can find a vaccine to make the world safer is exciting to say the least,” Maggi said.
He’s also working with other local officials to find ways to get more Washington County residents vaccinated.
Maggi said the county commissioners held a meeting with public safety officials Thursday afternoon to make preparations for mass vaccination sites once enough doses arrive. He said the rollout has been slowed by the amount of vaccine doses sent from the federal government and distributed by the state.
“We’re ready. We’re ready to put shots in people’s arms,” Maggi said. “We have places. We’re just waiting on the vaccine from the feds and the state. We want to be ready when that influx of vaccine comes out so we’ll be ready to put it in people’s arms, and we think we are.”