Doctor Shares Her Child's Experience With The Pfizer Vaccine Trial
Since early November, many children ages 5 to 11 have received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. But before this could happen, Pfizer had to test the vaccine in a trial. Children's of Alabama pediatric hospitalist Dr. Erinn Schmit entered her son in that trial. She explains why she wanted to have him participate and what it means to her family to play a role in this process.
Featured Speaker:
Erinn Schmit, MD
Dr. Erinn Schmit is an assistant professor of pediatrics in the Division of Hospital Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She earned her medical degree from the UAB School of Medicine followed by pediatric residency training at UAB and Children’s of Alabama, where she also served as a chief resident. Following a fellowship in Pediatric Hospital Medicine at UAB, she became an assistant professor in the division. Dr. Schmit also holds a Master’s of Education degree from the University of Cincinnati. She currently serves as director of Pediatric Medical Grand Rounds at Children’s of Alabama, associate program director for the Pediatric Hospital Medicine fellowship program and chair of the Safe Sleep Task Force at Children’s of Alabama. Transcription:
Doctor Shares Her Child's Experience With The Pfizer Vaccine Trial
Host: Welcome to Inside Pediatrics, a podcast brought to you by Children's Hospital of Alabama in Birmingham. I've got a guest for you. In early November, the CDC approved the use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine in children ages five to eleven. Children's of Alabama received its first doses November 9th and, since then, the hospital and its affiliated clinics have administered more than 2200 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to children in that age group.
Of course, before all this could happen, Pfizer had to test the vaccine on children ages five to eleven, and joining us now is someone whose child participated in that trial, Dr. Erinn Schmit. Dr. Schmit, thanks so much for joining us today.
Erinn Schmit: Absolutely. Thank you for having me.
Host: So, Dr. Schmit, you are an assistant professor at UAB, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and also a pediatric hospitalist here at Children's of Alabama, but also very importantly, for the purpose of this podcast, you're a mom and you entered your son in the Pfizer five to eleven vaccine trial. Tell me a little bit about that process and what led you to make that decision?
Erinn Schmit: Well, as a pediatrician, I have seen firsthand how valuable vaccines are in preventing so many illnesses. And since the beginning of this pandemic, we've all in healthcare felt so desperate for something that we could do to prevent illness and prevent hospitalization.
As a pediatric hospitalist, I take care of a lot of kids who've been hospitalized with COVID and with the complication of COVID that you can see from several weeks to months later called multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children. And these kids come in really, really sick. Seeing this happen made me even more determined that I didn't want it to happen to my own children. And I was very much looking forward to the vaccine being approved in their age group. So I thought a great way to help that process was to enroll my children in the study, help get some more information and participate in the scientific process of the vaccine trial itself.
Host: So you got to sort of help out with the process, but I guess in the process of doing that, your child got to be vaccinated earlier than most children.
Erinn Schmit: Yeah, that was part of the benefit, honestly. I wanted to protect my children as much as I could. And so many schools moving away from mask mandates and not having as much control over his exposure level, I knew that the vaccine trial was a good opportunity to potentially get him vaccinated before the emergency use authorization came out.
The way that the trial worked is that it was a 2:1 randomization, meaning two kids got the vaccine for every one child who got a placebo. So it was pretty good odds that potentially he could get the vaccine early through that trial.
Host: And I guess you did ultimately find out after a while that he did in fact get vaccinated.
Erinn Schmit: Yes. We were really excited when the EUA came out for the five to eleven age group, then they called us the next day to unblind us from the study, meaning let us know if he got the vaccine or not. And we found that he had gotten it. So he had been protected for several months and we're very thankful for that.
Host: I know parents are always worried about their kids. They want what's best for their kids. Were you nervous at all going into this process before your son got vaccinated?
Erinn Schmit: You know, I didn't want to necessarily put him at risk for anything, but I had already seen so much good information in the older age range, the 12 to 17-year-olds, about how safe the vaccine was. I had already been vaccinated. My husband had already been vaccinated. So we had been through that process ourselves and we knew that with the dose being lower in the five to eleven group, we were seeing even fewer side effects than in our teenagers and adults. So I felt pretty comfortable with it. But because my son is six, I wanted him to be involved in that decision and not just for me to make the decision for him. So we kind of had a conversation about what this would mean, how he could help other kids by participating in this trial. And he ultimately decided that it was something he wanted to go ahead and do.
Host: What was his reaction? What did he say about it when you were telling him about all this?
Erinn Schmit: He thought it would be pretty cool to help other kids and help to advance science, to be able to find out more about this, more about the vaccine and more about the process. And part of it is that we told him regardless he was going to get the vaccine, whether that was after the trial was over and the authorization came out or if it was during the trial itself. And so he also likes the opportunity to come and visit mommy's work. So he was excited about that as well.
Host: Exciting opportunity for him. What does it mean to you that your family played a role in this trial that ultimately allowed this vaccine to get approved for everyone to use?
Erinn Schmit: I think it's really cool. It's a neat piece of history, that looking back is going to be cool for my son and the rest of my family to say that he participated in. This pandemic is unlike anything that we've ever faced. And so anything that any of us can do to help bring it to an end, I think is very much worth it. And I really think that he was very brave to make that decision to want to participate in the trial.
Host: I know, you were talking about kind of preparing him for this. I've heard a lot of other medical experts talk about how it's better to take it than it is to take the risk of not having it.
Erinn Schmit: Yeah, exactly. So, you know, the potential risk of side effects, we know from lots of really good data that has come up from this study and I was actually just reviewing earlier is really mild in this age group. It may be a little bit of redness at the injection site, a little bit of fatigue, a little bit of headache, rarely fever, not even as much fever as we're seeing in adults. So there's very few side effects. Whereas the risk of actual COVID itself, if you're not protected with the vaccine and you were to get COVID, you know, we're seeing pretty high rates of hospitalization, we're seeing kids who develop that multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children. These really scary outcomes that are much worse than, you know, feeling bad for a day or two from the vaccine.
Host: And so now, I guess you have the confidence of knowing that your son is protected against COVID-19.
Erinn Schmit: Yes. I'm glad that he's protected by the vaccine. Granted with ongoing variants that are emerging, it's always hard to predict where things are going to go in the future. So still trying to social distance and encourage him to wear a mask and do other things to protect himself. But we're glad to have that protection, knowing that his risk of hospitalization is so much lower.
Host: Any advice you would have for parents who are still kind of going through that process themselves of deciding whether or not they want their child to get vaccinated?
Erinn Schmit: I would just reassure them that this vaccine has been extensively studied. It has been in place in different age groups, but even in this younger age group for many months now, it's been proven to be very safe with very few side effects. And it has a significant protection against getting COVID and against the risk of hospitalization with COVID. So I would encourage them to talk to their pediatrician if they have more questions, because of course that's going to be the expert on their own child's health, but the pediatricians that I'm friends with, all of us have vaccinated our children who are eligible. We couldn't wait to do it as soon as available. I have a lot of confidence in this vaccine.
Host: And of course, there's more research going on right now. And you have another child who's involved in that research.
Erinn Schmit: Yes. My younger child is four years old. And so she is in the two to four-year-old study as well. So that study is still ongoing. We are waiting for the review of the study data for the emergency use authorization to come up in that age group. So we don't yet know if she got placebo or vaccine, but she also went through that same process.
Host: So a lot of exciting potential developments going forward with the COVID-19 vaccine. Once again, Dr. Erinn Schmit, thanks for your time today.
Erinn Schmit: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.
Host: Thanks for listening to Inside Pediatrics. You can find more podcasts like this one at childrensal.org/insidepediatrics.
Doctor Shares Her Child's Experience With The Pfizer Vaccine Trial
Host: Welcome to Inside Pediatrics, a podcast brought to you by Children's Hospital of Alabama in Birmingham. I've got a guest for you. In early November, the CDC approved the use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine in children ages five to eleven. Children's of Alabama received its first doses November 9th and, since then, the hospital and its affiliated clinics have administered more than 2200 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to children in that age group.
Of course, before all this could happen, Pfizer had to test the vaccine on children ages five to eleven, and joining us now is someone whose child participated in that trial, Dr. Erinn Schmit. Dr. Schmit, thanks so much for joining us today.
Erinn Schmit: Absolutely. Thank you for having me.
Host: So, Dr. Schmit, you are an assistant professor at UAB, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and also a pediatric hospitalist here at Children's of Alabama, but also very importantly, for the purpose of this podcast, you're a mom and you entered your son in the Pfizer five to eleven vaccine trial. Tell me a little bit about that process and what led you to make that decision?
Erinn Schmit: Well, as a pediatrician, I have seen firsthand how valuable vaccines are in preventing so many illnesses. And since the beginning of this pandemic, we've all in healthcare felt so desperate for something that we could do to prevent illness and prevent hospitalization.
As a pediatric hospitalist, I take care of a lot of kids who've been hospitalized with COVID and with the complication of COVID that you can see from several weeks to months later called multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children. And these kids come in really, really sick. Seeing this happen made me even more determined that I didn't want it to happen to my own children. And I was very much looking forward to the vaccine being approved in their age group. So I thought a great way to help that process was to enroll my children in the study, help get some more information and participate in the scientific process of the vaccine trial itself.
Host: So you got to sort of help out with the process, but I guess in the process of doing that, your child got to be vaccinated earlier than most children.
Erinn Schmit: Yeah, that was part of the benefit, honestly. I wanted to protect my children as much as I could. And so many schools moving away from mask mandates and not having as much control over his exposure level, I knew that the vaccine trial was a good opportunity to potentially get him vaccinated before the emergency use authorization came out.
The way that the trial worked is that it was a 2:1 randomization, meaning two kids got the vaccine for every one child who got a placebo. So it was pretty good odds that potentially he could get the vaccine early through that trial.
Host: And I guess you did ultimately find out after a while that he did in fact get vaccinated.
Erinn Schmit: Yes. We were really excited when the EUA came out for the five to eleven age group, then they called us the next day to unblind us from the study, meaning let us know if he got the vaccine or not. And we found that he had gotten it. So he had been protected for several months and we're very thankful for that.
Host: I know parents are always worried about their kids. They want what's best for their kids. Were you nervous at all going into this process before your son got vaccinated?
Erinn Schmit: You know, I didn't want to necessarily put him at risk for anything, but I had already seen so much good information in the older age range, the 12 to 17-year-olds, about how safe the vaccine was. I had already been vaccinated. My husband had already been vaccinated. So we had been through that process ourselves and we knew that with the dose being lower in the five to eleven group, we were seeing even fewer side effects than in our teenagers and adults. So I felt pretty comfortable with it. But because my son is six, I wanted him to be involved in that decision and not just for me to make the decision for him. So we kind of had a conversation about what this would mean, how he could help other kids by participating in this trial. And he ultimately decided that it was something he wanted to go ahead and do.
Host: What was his reaction? What did he say about it when you were telling him about all this?
Erinn Schmit: He thought it would be pretty cool to help other kids and help to advance science, to be able to find out more about this, more about the vaccine and more about the process. And part of it is that we told him regardless he was going to get the vaccine, whether that was after the trial was over and the authorization came out or if it was during the trial itself. And so he also likes the opportunity to come and visit mommy's work. So he was excited about that as well.
Host: Exciting opportunity for him. What does it mean to you that your family played a role in this trial that ultimately allowed this vaccine to get approved for everyone to use?
Erinn Schmit: I think it's really cool. It's a neat piece of history, that looking back is going to be cool for my son and the rest of my family to say that he participated in. This pandemic is unlike anything that we've ever faced. And so anything that any of us can do to help bring it to an end, I think is very much worth it. And I really think that he was very brave to make that decision to want to participate in the trial.
Host: I know, you were talking about kind of preparing him for this. I've heard a lot of other medical experts talk about how it's better to take it than it is to take the risk of not having it.
Erinn Schmit: Yeah, exactly. So, you know, the potential risk of side effects, we know from lots of really good data that has come up from this study and I was actually just reviewing earlier is really mild in this age group. It may be a little bit of redness at the injection site, a little bit of fatigue, a little bit of headache, rarely fever, not even as much fever as we're seeing in adults. So there's very few side effects. Whereas the risk of actual COVID itself, if you're not protected with the vaccine and you were to get COVID, you know, we're seeing pretty high rates of hospitalization, we're seeing kids who develop that multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children. These really scary outcomes that are much worse than, you know, feeling bad for a day or two from the vaccine.
Host: And so now, I guess you have the confidence of knowing that your son is protected against COVID-19.
Erinn Schmit: Yes. I'm glad that he's protected by the vaccine. Granted with ongoing variants that are emerging, it's always hard to predict where things are going to go in the future. So still trying to social distance and encourage him to wear a mask and do other things to protect himself. But we're glad to have that protection, knowing that his risk of hospitalization is so much lower.
Host: Any advice you would have for parents who are still kind of going through that process themselves of deciding whether or not they want their child to get vaccinated?
Erinn Schmit: I would just reassure them that this vaccine has been extensively studied. It has been in place in different age groups, but even in this younger age group for many months now, it's been proven to be very safe with very few side effects. And it has a significant protection against getting COVID and against the risk of hospitalization with COVID. So I would encourage them to talk to their pediatrician if they have more questions, because of course that's going to be the expert on their own child's health, but the pediatricians that I'm friends with, all of us have vaccinated our children who are eligible. We couldn't wait to do it as soon as available. I have a lot of confidence in this vaccine.
Host: And of course, there's more research going on right now. And you have another child who's involved in that research.
Erinn Schmit: Yes. My younger child is four years old. And so she is in the two to four-year-old study as well. So that study is still ongoing. We are waiting for the review of the study data for the emergency use authorization to come up in that age group. So we don't yet know if she got placebo or vaccine, but she also went through that same process.
Host: So a lot of exciting potential developments going forward with the COVID-19 vaccine. Once again, Dr. Erinn Schmit, thanks for your time today.
Erinn Schmit: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.
Host: Thanks for listening to Inside Pediatrics. You can find more podcasts like this one at childrensal.org/insidepediatrics.