Arizona ER doctor takes part in Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine trials

PHOENIX - An announcement on the morning of Monday, Nov. 9, from drug-making giant, Pfizer Inc., rocked everything from the medical world to the stock market with the word of a vaccine holding major promise against COVID-19.

Pfizer Inc. is viewing this latest vaccine as a game-changer in the battle against the deadly virus as it has a reported more than 90% efficacy rate.

In Phoenix, emergency room doctor, Amish Shah, who’s also a District 24 state representative, has a more personal view of the Pfizer vaccine trial. There were more than 43,000 people tested in six countries, and Shah was one of them.

Being 43 years old and in good physical shape, Shas says he was more than willing to be a volunteer in the Pfizer trials which required him to get a shot in the arm of a placebo or the vaccine one month apart, then at least half a dozen follow up visits.

Every week he had to fill out a diary with what he's feeling and experiencing.

The risk was there, but so was the reward. This Pfizer announcement might be that very reward. "For me, it's about service to humanity, providing a real service," Shah said.

The vaccine, which is given in two shots, will not be available for several more weeks. Though production is already underway, it still has to be authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).