Erin Freeman: Welcome to Sweet Tea and Strategy, a podcast produced by Ackerman Marketing and PR featuring leaders throughout Tennessee talking about issues and trends of importance in our state and beyond. I’m Aaron Freeman and on behalf of Ackerman, today I’m bringing you a very special edition of our podcast.
It goes without saying that 2020 has been so much different than years past. A year of extremes, you might say. Our country has seen ups and downs like no other. Whether it’s been news coverage about natural disasters, social issues, the presidential election, or the COVID-19 pandemic, so far 2020 has caused many of us to feel a whirlwind of emotions. We’ve all looked to find a bright spot in our news, and joining me today is one of those bright spots, Robin Wilhoit, anchor of WBIR-TV’s 10News at 5, 10News at 6, and 10News Nightbeat.
Robin is currently participating in Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine trial at NOCCR Knoxville and Volunteer Research Group, which is located at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. Through Ackerman’s work on behalf of UT Medical Center, I’ve been with Robin since the beginning of her participation in the vaccine trial as she’s been chronicling her journey. WBIR recently released a series of stories about Robin’s experience, and we’re glad she’s here with us to talk about it today. Robin, welcome to our podcast.
Robin Wilhoit: Erin, thank you. Thank you so much for this opportunity. I appreciate it.
Erin Freeman: We’re very happy that you’re here with us to share this story. It’s very important, and we want this story to be told as far across the way as we can make it be heard. So let’s just start from the beginning. Why did you decide to participate in the trial?
Robin Wilhoit: You know, it’s—I’m going to try to give you the readers—not the Readers Digest version, I’m going to give you the Cliff Notes version because it’s been a process. Any person in the news has been reporting on the coronavirus pandemic since the beginning of the year. You know, we’re almost to November now. It has been a part of our daily lives just as human beings, but as journalists, we are continually sharing stories and the reality of it is so much of it has been bad news. Tough news that we don’t want to hear. And while there have been some high points when there are people who are recovering, just today, you know, we see the numbers skyrocketing, so there are certainly many low points in this journey that we’re taking.
So that really had been my mindset: Okay, this is a lot to continue to share. Then, over the course—I guess it was probably earlier in the summer—I had heard that some experimental COVID-19 vaccine trials were going to be coming to Volunteer Research Group, and I’d done stories with them—several stories throughout the years. So, very familiar with Dr. Smith, very familiar with the work that they do. I just started thinking, hmm, this might be something me personally I could do. Because the reality is, there is this feeling of helplessness. I think so many of us are feeling helpless because this pandemic is not going away anytime soon, but we want to do something—anything. So the everyday average citizen was like, you know, that’s something I could do.
So I inquired and I talked to Dr. Smith about it, and in doing so I thought maybe this is a story—maybe this is a story I can share. If not my experience, maybe another person’s experience going through the trial. I talked to my news director about it and we really just processed how best to tell this story. And in the end, I decided that sharing my story is something that I wanted to do as a journalist, to share the authentic story, the factual story because there is a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to these vaccine trials and the vaccines that could end up being administered to people. So ultimately I said in my mind, this is something I want to do on a personal level but on a journalistic level to provide that information—clear, factual information to our viewers. And here we are. I had my first vaccine on August 5th.
Erin Freeman: Well and let’s talk about how you were able to bring your personal life into your professional life and, you know, how did WBIR decide to come on board? We’re very glad that they did because this is such an important story to share, but I’m sure they had a lot that they had to weigh in deciding to cover your journey. So just talk us through that process where WBIR decided yes, this is definitely something we want to bring to our viewers.
Robin Wilhoit: It was actually a very easy sell. After I talked to Dr. Smith about, yeah, is this something I could personally do, go through myself, but is there some way that we could share this story to share with our viewers? I took that back to our leadership and they immediately embraced the idea and they allowed me, if you will, to share my story. So it was definitely an easy sell. The reason being, they know the importance of sharing this story and being transparent and showing people the process in hopes that we get the story out—the right story out, the factual story out—and that takes away any of the misinformation that is out there. So they were immediately on board with this, but I went to them basically saying this is what I want to do as a person, if I can also share this journey journalistically with our viewers I would like to do that, and they were all on board with doing that.
Erin Freeman: You mentioned that your first shot—you had your first shot in August. So talk to us about what that first appointment was like and how has the trial been so far?
Robin Wilhoit: Okay, yes, my first visit was August 5th. Went in and—I believe it was early afternoon, actually it was 11 o’clock right before noon. It was a long process from beginning to end. Got there and the first thing they do automatically is check you when you go into the hospital—before you even go into the hospital or down the hallway they are checking you immediately as far as your temperature, asking you questions if you’ve had any exposure to anyone with COVID. So just getting to Volunteer Research was a bit of a process. But we got there and it really began with lots of questions—answering lots and lots of questions. The consent form is 25 pages long, so I had gone through that, became acquainted with what the study actually looks like. I had done research prior to, but this was the actual consent form. Once I signed that, then the process I guess truly began. It started with an exam: they checked my vitals, they took blood—it seemed like a lot of blood and I do not do well with watching blood so I turned my head the entire process—and after that it was the COVID test, because yes indeed, they wanted to make sure I did not have COVID at that point. Had I had COVID, I would not have been allowed to be part of the study. The test came back negative, and then the waiting began because what I’ve learned over the course of this experience is this vaccine is stored at 80 degrees below zero. It’s like liquid gold or frozen gold at that point. And so once I had passed the exam and everything looked good, the COVID test was clear, I waited until a vial of that vaccine melted no less than 30 minutes. That vial provides five shots to five different individuals, so essentially they have to have five people in the cue. Thus the reason why it’s a long wait: you’ve got to get the number of people at that process and then that vaccine has to be ready to go.
So after that, once they came through the door with that vial in that handheld cooler, it was go time. I was a little anxious, I must admit, initially. Sat down and the pharmacist—he came in—he is the only one in that facility who knows whether I got the placebo or the real vaccine. Sat me down, told me to look the opposite way of the arm that was getting the shot, and with that I got the shot and almost breathed a sigh of relief after that because there’s a lot of anticipation getting to that point. So that was the first shot. Three weeks later—a much more abbreviated session—another COVID test, answered questions about my health from the point of the prior exam or the prior visit and then got the second shot. And then three weeks after that I went back—no more shots at that point—they took blood at that point with the reason being testing it to see if I had developed antibodies to COVID-19 given those two shots that I had had previously.
Erin Freeman: So my question is, between that first shot and your second appointment, did you ever have a moment where you thought, I don’t want to do this anymore?
Robin Wilhoit: No, not once. And especially after my second shot, you would have thought maybe I would have gone what the heck, because I did have side effects. It was articulated early on in the study that there are potential side effects to the shot. Once again not knowing whether I got the placebo or the real deal, but they said you could develop a low-grade fever, you could get chills, you could get aches—just really that whole feeling of almost low-grade kind of flu-type situation. Well the night after I had my second shot, I woke up in the middle of the night and it had hit me. I had a low-grade fever, just achy—not horrible by any means but I didn’t feel great. Pretty much down for the count most of the next day. My fever got to about 100.1—low-grade—but within 24 hours no issues whatsoever, back to 100 percent. And despite that, I still never questioned participating in the study. It just reinforced that, you know what, this is the process. This is what we have to go through to potentially get a vaccine.
Erin Freeman: Right. And it’s clear that this was a decision that you put a lot of thought into. I know that you were very thoughtful in your decision-making whether or not to be part of this, and so I’m sure that’s what has carried you through this process. So you know, talk to us about what do you hope viewers get out of this series of stories?
Robin Wilhoit: Initially, I want viewers to know that vaccination research is by no means new. This has been going on for decades and decades and decades—these processes, these human trials. Think about it: we had to have clinical trials in order to have a polio vaccine. We had to have these in order to have a flu vaccine. We had to have all these different trials to have these vaccines that have saved countless lives. So this process is essential. So number one, I want to share with our viewers that this is part of the scientific process in order to have a vaccine that will protect lives—hopefully save lives. I want them number one to have that information. Number two, I want them to have right information—the correct information as opposed to some of the crazy things that I’ve heard along the way that they’re going to give you—shoot you up with a microchip or something like that—that is indeed not the case. So to be very transparent in the process, to show people this is how it’s done. And number three, to shine the light that, you know, this is one thing—we all have to find something that we can do to get through this pandemic, to do our part. Whether it be being a part of a vaccine trial or taking care of a neighbor who is homebound or reaching out to someone with a phone call—we can all do something to get through this point in time. So what is that something for you? You have to decide, but that was the something for me.
Erin Freeman: Yeah, you’re right. We all need to do something individually to help us all see the light at the end of the tunnel. Because this—the pandemic has been such a dark time for us, and yet there have been positive moments where we’ve either gotten to spend more time with our families or we’ve got to evaluate our work-life balance. And so it’s all us finding something that helps us get through this. And so I very much admire what you’ve done to help us all get to the end of the tunnel.
So you know, let’s talk about what are your next steps with the trial? You’ve had three appointments, two of which you had a shot, your last appointment they drew blood from you to see if you’re developing antibodies, and we won’t—we’re not going to know any sort of result relative to whether you’ve gotten the vaccine or the placebo until however long from now. So kind of talk to us about what are your next steps with the trial?
Robin Wilhoit: As you mentioned, I’ve had my third visit. I will have a fourth next February. And just to back up a moment, this is a two-year study. So essentially it is going to go to August—at least for me—August 2022. That is where it stands right now. Now there are a lot of things that can happen between now and then. Of course, Pfizer and other pharmaceutical companies are hoping to get emergency use authorization in order to give these vaccines truly to the first-line people, the frontline people, the most vulnerable early on. So if that is decided—if that does happen—there are many ways this trial could play out. Could they stop it early? That’s a possibility. Will they continue the research on for two years? That’s yet to be seen. But at this point I’m enrolled in the study until August 2022, and we’ll go three more times: once in February, then in August which marks a year, and then August 2022.
Erin Freeman: I know that you’ve been keeping a diary of sorts—a digital diary—that Pfizer asked you to keep to keep track of any symptoms you may have. So are you still logging every night into that and will that continue through August two years from now?
Robin Wilhoit: That is my understanding. I every Wednesday I get an alert at 8 o’clock at night to fill in my diary. Initially, right after I got the first shot I had to fill it in every night for a week, but from that point on it was once a week. And like clockwork, I get that and it basically asks if I’m experiencing any symptoms like a fever, cough—anything that could be perceived as COVID-type symptoms. Simply answer those, hit submit and it’s done. Takes me less than a minute to do it. But I foresee I will be doing this for the next couple of years given how the study is going right now.
Erin Freeman: Needless to say, they are doing their part in making sure they properly document everything, and that goes to our discussion about the process about this trial. So you know, how can viewers watch your series? This is so very important so talk to us about how viewers here in Knoxville and well beyond, how can they watch your important series?
Robin Wilhoit: It is so simple: just go to WBIR.com. It has been there for several days now and it will live there in perpetuity. So go to WBIR.com, you can search—it’s on the front page right now and I foresee it being on the front page for the next couple of weeks or so—but a quick search of vaccine trial Robin Wilhoit you should be able to access it very quickly. We will be having a series of stories coming up this Friday—this Thursday and Friday—essentially showing everything that we have living right now online. We will present it in the different newscasts throughout the day Thursday and Friday. So we want to make it as accessible to people as we can because we too feel it’s vital information for people to see, to hear, to try to understand. And we want people to make up their own decisions. This was a right decision for me. I cannot tell you what is right for you, but all we can do as a station is provide information that helps you and guides your decision-making.
Erin Freeman: Right. And we are appreciative of that as well. And we will make sure to include on the Sweet Tea and Strategy podcast site as well—we’ll have all the links to your stories. Robin, thank you so much for sharing these stories with us. Thank you for the impact you have on our community. I know this has been straight from the heart series of stories for you, and on behalf of Ackerman, I’m always appreciative of the opportunities I have to work with you and the WBIR team.
Robin Wilhoit: Well Erin, I can’t thank you enough for this opportunity and really going along on this journey with us. We’re eternally grateful, and we hope that eventually, we’re all going to get back to where we can hug each other and we can shake hands and we can just go back to the way we were pre-COVID. That’s the hope and prayer. Thank you though for this opportunity.
Erin Freeman: Mine too. You and I have talked by Zoom or phone or by text, but I so look forward to seeing you in person and giving you a big old hug one of these days. So thanks again for all you do.
Robin Wilhoit: It will happen. It will. Thank you. I appreciate you very much.
Erin Freeman: We hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Sweet Tea and Strategy podcast. To hear more, visit https://www.google.com/search?q=thinkackerman.com. We appreciate you listening. Cheers to the next edition of Sweet Tea and Strategy.