Susan Faith loves pigs. In fact, she loves pigs so much she carries around with her a photograph of a child kissing the animal, jokingly telling people this is how “swine flu” started.
“I know this is not how ‘swine flu’ started, and that’s why I want to show people they don’t have to be afraid of pigs,” she said.
Helping people understand that H1N1 isn’t really “swine flu” is one reason she has volunteered for the first round of vaccine testing at UI Hospitals and Clinics.
The 59-year-old prison nurse is one of 184 patients in the UIHC offering to test the potential vaccine before it’s issued to the public. After hearing about the trials and need for volunteers from the news, Faith “hunted down” the university hospital booth at the Johnson County Fair to find out more information.
“I have been doing these studies longer than your ages combined,” Faith told a DI reporter and photographer. “I asked [the people at the booth], ‘Where do I sign up for this?’ I knew that Iowa was going to be one of the testing sites, and I wanted to be a part of it.”
But not all test sites are seeing individuals this excited.
During Faith’s second vaccine shot on Sept. 8, she carried with her an advertisement asking for help in a similar H1N1 test in Omaha.
“I cannot believe how hard it is for other [states] to find volunteers, when the UIHC had more than enough,” she said.
Patricia Winokur, principal investigator for the trial and an associate dean in the UI Carver College of Medicine, said she has found Iowa City and the state has a strong sense of volunteerism.
“We have a highly educated population, and they understand the value of participating in these trials,” she said. “We also have a smaller town, so it’s easier for individuals to come for visits.”
Nationwide, the National Institutes of Health — which oversees all H1N1 vaccine trials — reports seeing an average of 3,500 volunteers each year for varying tests.
But for some volunteers, this is not their first time taking part in a medical study.
Faith, and some other individuals testing the H1N1 vaccines, are volunteer medical-research junkies.
Tom Senneff, a retired assistant dean in the UI College of Law, said he has been involved in studies dealing with the avian flu and several heart-related medications.
Senneff, who suffered from a heart attack in 1995, was chosen to participate in a study dealing with heart medication roughly four years ago.
Even though the medication failed to work and killed several people across the nation, Senneff said, he was still willing to take the risk in hopes of helping others.
“The era I grew up in measured a man by his willingness to do things for others,” the 78-year-old veteran said. “I do not know a man who would be too scared to help out others.”
Senneff said Iowa City is place where individuals want to better others’ lives, even if it means risking your life for a good cause.
“Look at last year’s flood,” he said. “I drove down to a Hy-Vee one afternoon, and I could barely find parking because of people who drove up to help sandbag that particular area.”
Faith and Senneff agreed this study means more than just receiving an early H1N1 vaccine.
“I’m 78; I’ve lived a good life. I’m not trying to end it,” he said with a chuckle. “But that side effect doesn’t scare me. My era has seen worse.”