Leeds woman taking part in Novovax trial urges anti-vaccine people to take up the jab

Jennifer Masters had been shielding since last March as she has arthritis and fibromyalgia.

She said she had a 50-50 chance of surviving coronavirus if she got it and, by the time it got to September and she had been locked down for the best part of six months, she figured she had nothing to lose by taking part in trials to help with the development and testing of the Novovax vaccine.

Other than a headache for three days following the first trial she has had no effects and returns to The Edge facility, part of the University of Leeds, for regular tests and check ups.

She is one of 800 volunteers in Leeds, there are 15,000 across the UK, with Novovax looking to be the fourth vaccine approved for use in the UK.

She said: "If I got COVID I had a 50-50 chance of surviving so if scientists are offering a trial, why not go for it?"

Mrs Masters, of Moortown, had to undergo tests to check her glands, blood-pressure, heart-beat and was blind tested so she didn't know whether she had had the vaccine or a placebo.

Three weeks later she had to go back for blood tests, then every month and now it is every three months for monitoring.

She said: "A GP told me I had already had the vaccine and was one of the lucky ones. I had had it in October in both arms and I was quite chuffed that I had had it. I have got to still social distance and wear a mask. There are still so many questions such as can I still get it? I was told that the worst case scenario would be it felt like cold symptoms.

"I wanted to stay on the trial and still give my bloods. There are still so many questions and without people on the trial they will never get answered. If they can find a cure within 'x' amount of time, I am willing to help.

"If they can deliver a vaccine and roll it out as quick it means they could do other vaccines for other serious conditions. It has proved that they can do it."

She even got a £100 fine for the cause. Mrs Masters was so nervous waiting for her first session she was having a cigarette outside, took a phone call and being flustered dropped the cigarette end as she want to her appointment and got a tap on the shoulder from a warden.

More than 15 million people across the UK received their first dose of a vaccine. Ministers said they are "on track" to meet the target of getting an offer of a first dose to everyone in the UK in the top four priority groups - including all over-70s - by today's deadline. It paves the way for the next phase of the rollout - covering the next five priority groups, including the over-50s - to begin.

Mrs Masters added: "When you have anti-vaccine people saying 'I will never take anything rolled out so quickly', there are people like me who did not know what they would get or how it would turn out, giving a trial doctor our lives.

"We have gone through it and are making it safe for people. Take it - we have not done it for no reason, we have done it for the public."

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