West Newsmagazine 12-16-20

44 I HEALTH I
December 16, 2020
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Local residents contribute to
critical COVID-19 research
By LISA RUSSELL
People throughout the West County area
are stepping up to help in the fight against
COVID-19. This includes not only healthcare
workers and other front-line professionals,
but also local residents of all ages
who have put their own health on the line
to test medications that could possibly
reduce the pandemic’s impact – or eliminate
it once and for all.
Playing a part in reaching that goal was
what motivated Jim Enright, of Chesterfield,
to respond when he heard this
summer about trials of potential vaccines
developed by Pfizer and BioNTech
taking place in the St. Louis area. Pfizer
announced in November that its resulting
vaccine candidate is 95% effective against
the virus.
“I come from the mindset that you can’t
really lead from the rear. Sometimes you
have to get out front,” said Enright.
After filling out a prequalification
questionnaire online, the 55-year-old
went through a series of interviews and
answered many detailed health questions
before learning he had been accepted
into the trial in August. In September, he
reported to Sundance Clinical Research in
Creve Coeur for the first of two injections,
and received a second about a month later.
Although he doesn’t know whether he
received the vaccine or a placebo, he said
he did experience some unusual fatigue
following both shots. In addition to his
time spent in the qualification phase of the
trial, he also has contributed many hours to
study visits, follow-up appointments and
questionnaires, a daily health monitoring
journal, and periodic bloodwork which
includes testing for COVID-19. He has had
no symptoms or positive test results to date.
“I’m humbled and excited to be participating,”
Enright said. “I’ve lived in Chesterfield
for 25-plus years, so it’s neat that
this is happening here locally.”
The race for vaccines isn’t the only
research area in which local citizens are
having an impact. Residents and staff at
Bethesda Dilworth, located on Big Bend
Road in the Kirkwood area, also recently
came forward to help in the urgent search
for treatments to prevent severe cases of the
virus, which has so devastated the elderly.
Bethesda was the only St. Louis area
senior living organization to partner with
Eli Lilly and Company on a trial of bamlanivimab,
a monoclonal antibody therapy
engineered from one of the first Americans
to recover from COVID-19. The national
trial was designed to investigate the drug
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for its ability to prevent SARS-CoV-2
infection and COVID-19 in residents and
staff of long-term care facilities.
Kiel Peregrin, Bethesda’s senior vice
president of operations, said he reached out
to Eli Lilly after a resident’s son brought
the trial to his attention in August. Although
the company had not yet done any study
work in Missouri, Peregrin said Lilly identified
Bethesda as an ideal research partner
due to its size, its diligence in following
federal, state and local guidelines to prevent
the spread of the virus within the community,
and other factors.
“I come from the mindset
that you can’t really lead
from the rear. Sometimes
you have to get out front.”
– Jim Enright
At the same time, he said, more and more
residents were voicing their desire to do
whatever they could to help advance treatments
for COVID-19. And just days before
the trial was set to begin on Nov. 14, the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued
an emergency use authorization (EUA) for
bamlanivimab for the treatment of mild-tomoderate
cases of the virus.
The EUA allows use of the drug for
patients testing positive who are considered
at high risk for severe disease and/or
hospitalization. This exciting development
only increased residents’ interest in the
trial, Peregrin said.
In all, 46 Bethesda Dilworth residents
and staff members participated in the study,
the largest number of volunteers Lilly had
received at any U.S. location to date.
Their commitment, along with several
hours of their time, was receiving one
infused dose of either the antibody treatment
or a placebo. As part of a monitoring
phase which will end in May of next
year, the participants keep track of their
vital signs and answer a health questionnaire
every day, are tested for COVID-19
at least weekly, and undergo monthly lab
work.
“The great experience for us was having
a high number of people wanting to be part
of the solution, wanting to be part of saving
lives in the future,” Peregrin said. “This
has been so hard for everyone … It’s great
to be part of what could become a solution.”