My 10 Month Old Participated in the COVID-19 Vaccine Trials

My son received the first Covid-19 vaccine shot at 10 months old. You heard that correctly, 10 months. At 11 months, he was completely vaccinated and is now a happy healthy 14-month-old. He was part of the KidCove study right here in Metairie, Louisiana.

What I learned about signing up for things is to act fast and make a decision later. Just get your name on the list. I’ll be honest, when I heard that one of the testing sites for the vaccine trial was local, I was leaning towards passing on it. My son was only about 7 months old (the minimum age to sign them up was 6 months), adults had just started receiving their shots, and I was not even eligible yet. It felt way too early to make that call. But, thankfully, my husband reminded me to not stress about it now and to just get our name on the list. So, we did.

And we heard nothing.

In a way was I was relieved; I did not have to make a decision. But I was still living in pandemic limbo, seeing so many of my childless vaccinated friends without a worry in the world, but feeling like it was my duty to continue to protect my unvaccinated child.

Then, on the very last day of Phase 1, we got a call that they had one more spot to fill due to a lot of children being DQ’d due to illness on their appointment day. We had to make a decision quickly. So to be clear, we were not originally chosen and were essentially just picked up the phone at the right time.

By now I had been fully vaccinated. I had no reaction to the shots. But I had Pfizer, and the trial was Moderna. So, I was unsure. But I also felt like we had won the jackpot. We were 1 of 150 babies in the entire country to be chosen for phase one. If I said no, I would replay the moment over and over again, especially if my son ended up getting Covid.

So, I said yes, and we went in the next morning.

The staff was incredibly friendly, great with children, and continued to ease any fears I had. He even got his first shot by the actual research doctor and was fawned over by everyone. Definitely beats a little back room in a crowded pharmacy. So far, we’ve had three in-person visits (one per shot and a follow-up) and multiple web journals and phone calls. We will continue to be monitored for at least a year and can opt in to further testing.

The amount of relief I feel is immense. If I’m ever having a rough day, I think in the scope of a global pandemic how darn lucky we were to have this opportunity. All the cards really had to be stacked just right.

I’m putting this out there not to brag and not to pressure, but if I was in most parents’ shoes, waiting for the approval of the vaccine in pediatric patients, I would be desperate to talk to someone like me who had already gone through the process.

Today, I will be taking over the New Orleans Mom Instagram stories. If you have any questions, please ask. I am happy to speak to any of our personal experiences with the vaccine trial and its aftermath.

About the Author

Casey is a local mom and business owner. She lives with her partner, son and Siberian cat in their eclectic craftsman mid-city home.

2 COMMENTS

  1. WOW!! WOW!! WOW!!
    That is soooooo tremendous!!!
    So happy and proud. Everyone should take examples from this.
    What better example can you have than this???
    💕💕💕

  2. This is child abuse. Sick! I feel so sorry for your baby, to have a mother that can’t do her own research and just follow so blindly. Your baby will have to continue going through life getting boosters, that can possibly further sterilization…so when or if he does reach adulthood, his decision to have children naturally could potentially be taken away from him. So sad! Wheres the choice for his individual body. Shouldn’t he make the decision!

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