Heartbeat: Taking part in trials – Steven’s story of stepping forward

August 5, 2021

Just over 12 months ago Lead Pharmacist, Steven Shanu took the decision to step forward and take part in a ground breaking trial, one that would go on to save millions of lives – the trial of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccination. Today we find out more about why Steven took the decision which alongside thousands of others helped prove the safety and efficacy of the lifesaving jab.

When uncertainty about the future was at the forefront of everyone minds and hospitals across the country were battling to stabilise and save their patients, an army of researchers were desperately working away in the background to develop a vaccine, but to trial it they needed people to step forward and volunteer.

Steven had for a long time been in a privileged position, with the clinical knowledge, understanding and experience to know exactly how much work goes in to developing a viable vaccine before the first dose goes anywhere near a person. And most importantly, how incredibly important it is to be able to carry out trials to ensure every potential issue has been addressed and evidence gathered.

To find out more about why Steven stepped forward, Heartbeat caught up with the pharmacist, he said: “I know when the vaccine was rolled out, there were lots of people asking, ‘who took part in the trial, is the data that was gathered valid to me?’ and these are valid and justifiable questions.

“I decided to take part in the trial because I’ve got a child who suffers from febrile convulsions, so my train of thought was that if there was anything I could do to prevent taking COVID home to my son or to other people who are vulnerable, it was something that I wanted to be a part of. And also, when the results were published, I wanted to make sure as much as I could, that people could relate to the data as it included people from ethnic backgrounds.

“A lot of trials struggle to get a representative mix of people, depending on where the trial takes place and whether the community feel they can believe in it, trust it and want to contribute. This was my opportunity to do what I thought was right.

“I had my first dose of OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine in June 2020 and since then I’ve had regular blood tests to see how my body is responding to the vaccine, the antibody and immune cell levels. This is ongoing intense monitoring, months ahead of the general public vaccine roll out. Through that, the trial investigators are able to continually assess and review the evidence for the vaccine and inform the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and other regulators. My response to the vaccine has been positive, I’ve had a negative PCR test every week since starting the trial over a year ago, as part of the ongoing long term monitoring.”

“I was able to play my part in demonstrating that the vaccine was safe and effective and showing that the vaccine is our way out of this pandemic.”