SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio — The next phase of the Pfizer trials in 5-11-year-old children is now under way.\, and kids from Cleveland are part of the study.
According to Senders Pediatrics founder Dr. Shelly Senders, if all goes according to plan, the vaccine could be available to children by the end of the year. One of the children involved in the study is 10 year-old Hope Gilbert, of Moreland Hills.
"I was a little bit nervous but I was very excited," Hope told us. "I wanted to go back to school, dance and vacation."
Hope's parents, Michele and Joe Gilbert, were involved in the Pfizer adult trial last summer.
"We felt really secure about what would happen with the vaccine," Michele said. "When it came time and we had the opportunity with Dr. Senders to get Hope involved in the trial and get her potentially vaccinated … it was a no brainer for us."
According to Senders, there are 80 different sites as part of the trial throughout the country. Each site has 25 patients.
"Oh my God, we have 525 people who want to do the study that only 25 people can be part of," she explained. "The interest and enthusiasm is through the roof."
Children who are part of the trial get two doses, either a placebo or the real thing. Senders says each dose is three weeks apart.
"Even though children right now are the least likely to have serious reactions, the least likely to be hospitalized and the least likely to die, if all of the sudden it mutates and we start seeing children dying left and right, we need a vaccine that can protect our children."
For the Gilberts, they feel it's their duty to help our community, and they trust the science.
"You have to do your research and do what's comfortable for you and your family," Joe said. "This is about being healthy."