Priest takes part in clinical trials

ORTLEY BEACH  It has been the “shot in the arm” felt ’round the U.S. for about a million people so far who have rolled up their sleeves to receive their initial dose of one of two highly anticipated vaccines hailed as decisive weapons in the war to wipe out the global COVID-19 pandemic.

This fall, Father Ed Reading, a diocesan priest who serves outside the Diocese, spent time in the trenches of that war as a volunteer, receiving two doses of one of those vaccines, Pfizer-BioNTech — three weeks apart — as part of the third phase of a global clinical trial to make sure that the drug is safe and effective. The 74-year-old N.J.-licensed drug and alcohol counselor helped make history in the trial, which demonstrated the vaccine to be more than 90 percent effective in protecting participants from COVID-19 after 28 days on the two-dose schedule.

Based on these results, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the vaccine on Dec. 11 as the first of its kind allowed to be distributed and used for emergency use to prevent COVID-19 in people 16 years old and older. Distribution in the U.S. started on Dec. 13 as the country has been experiencing a long and sustained spike in coronavirus cases and deaths. So far, the virus has taken the lives of 1.7 million people around the world and 280,000 in the U.S. and has upended people’s everyday lives.

“I was eager to be part of the trial to show people that the danger of receiving the vaccine is low and could prevent them from getting coronavirus, which could be deadly or have long-lasting health effects,” said Father Reading, who lives in Ortley Beach. Among his many roles is serving as chairman of the N.J. Drug and Alcohol Counselor Committee, which certifies and licenses addiction counselors. In the Diocese, he serves as weekend assistant at Good Shepherd Parish, Andover, and as a board member of Catholic Charities. “At Masses I told parishioners that when they have the opportunity, they should get the vaccine,” he said.

Between September and October, Father Reading rolled up his sleeve for the two shots in visits to South Jersey Infectious Disease in Somers Point for a “double-blind” trial. In it, half the participants received the actual vaccine and the other half received a placebo. Later he was informed that he had been administered the vaccine so he does not have to receive it again, said the “semi-retired” priest.

“The shot felt no different than any other injection. The needle is no bigger. I had the side effects of a little pain, redness and swelling at the injection site but it was not different than a flu shot. I did lose 10 pounds,” said Father Reading, who in his role with the Professionals Assistance Program, works with recovering physicians, dentists, nurses and others to allow them to continue practicing their profession, so long as they document their recovery. “With the injection, I didn’t suffer from any of the other commonly reported side effects as tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain and fever,” he said.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is synthetic, making it safer than earlier vaccines like the one for polio, which contains the live virus. The new vaccine mimics the molecular structure of COVID-19 to trick white blood cells in the body into thinking that they are attacking the actual virus, causing the body to develop antibodies against it. It contains no tissue from aborted babies, Father Reading said.

The FDA also approved Moderna, another COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, on Dec. 18.

Last summer, Father Reading learned that he could apply for the trial from his connections in the medical field. He found a spot open in the diverse New Jersey-Philadelphia cohort that fit his demographic: an older white man with type-2 diabetes who is a licensed healthcare worker. The trial includes two years of follow-up with online reports, face-to-face interviews and periodic blood and other tests, he said.

“I also wanted to be a part of this trial because I have worked in hospitals and with physicians for almost 40 years — many of whom have come down with COIVD-19 or treat patients who have had it — or died of it,” said Father Reading, who earned a doctorate in pastoral counseling from LaSalle University in Mandeville, La. in 2002. “As a medical professional, I also know how important this kind of research is,” he said.

Ordained a priest of the Diocese in 1972, Father Reading started work as a healthcare professional at Straight and Narrow in Paterson, the drug- and alcohol-treatment program of diocesan Catholic Charities, from 1969 to 1980 when he started to minister outside the Diocese. He also taught at several colleges and universities in New Jersey, helped train addiction professionals and lectured on addiction in the U.S. and Canada.

Father Reading revealed another inspiration for participating in the trial: the selfless example of 100 retired religious sisters living in a nursing home who volunteered for a trial for a dementia drug in the 1990s.

“These nuns offered themselves up in continued service to their community as part of their ministry. As a priest dedicated to a ministry of healing in healthcare, I always said that I would consider doing that too. I’m happy I had the opportunity,” Father Reading told The Beacon.