ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Mark and Joy Goldberg decided to participate in one of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine trials for an important reason.
“We just became grandparents the beginning of the pandemic,” said Joy Goldberg.
Their grandson was behind their motivation to make sure they were protected from a virus that’s now killed nearly 350,000 Americans.
“He’ll be ten-months-old on January 10th and I want to be around,” said Joy.
“This is a war here and this main weapon we have against the virus is a vaccine,” Mark added.
The Annapolis couple volunteered in a vaccine trial that took place in Baltimore. It was a double-blind study, meaning the two aren’t sure if they were given a placebo or the real thing.
But Joy believes they did after experiencing a fever and some fatigue.
“The reaction was well worth the risk for not getting COVID,” Joy said. “It lasted about 24 hours; I was done [and] I resumed my normal life.”
The two received their first shot in September and their second dose a month later. They will be monitored over the next couple of years and have to submit weekly checkups.
“This was a way of stepping up to the challenge,” Mark said.
The Goldbergs are encouraging others to step up too and get the vaccine once it’s widely available. For them, it’s the only way we will ever get back to normal.
“I feel healthy. I feel find and I would just urge everybody out there to take the vaccine,” Joy said.
