While We Have Time Let Us Do Good – Part 2

In the next of our While We Have Time Let Us Do Good series, we take a look at Elizabethan Malcolm Davies, who has been taking part in the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccination trial.

Malcolm first found out about the trial at the end of August 2020, when he saw a request for volunteers on the NHS Patient Access app. By September he was an active participant in the trial and has talked us through what the trial has involved.

“The first thing I had to do was to take part in a health interview over the phone with a doctor, before having a face to face interview with another doctor. I was then given the injection, which had to be delayed for a couple of weeks due to the fact that I had recently received my annual flu vaccination. All appointments took place in an ambulance outside the clinic at Southmead Hospital Research Centre rather than inside the clinic itself, for obvious reasons. During this time I have had to keep a diary, daily to begin with and then going on to a weekly basis, keeping track of how I have been feeling.”

And that leads us on to the burning question – did Malcolm have any side effects?!

“The only side effect that I had was some tenderness of the upper arm in which I had the jab, something that is very common with injections and vaccines. Of course, I don’t know whether I actually received the vaccine or not, as it was a double blind test meaning that neither I nor the doctor administering the vaccine know whether I received the Covid-19 vaccination or a meningitis and septicaemia vaccination, which was being used as the placebo.”

When we asked Malcolm why he had decided to take part in the trial he spoke about his involvement in other local initiatives and charities, such as St Peter’s Hospice, and his desire to do things to help his community.

A perfect example of our school motto and an inspiration to our current students!