Checking in with the Seattle woman who took the first dose of an experimental coronavirus vaccine

It's been one month since the first person took the first dose of an experimental coronavirus vaccine in Seattle. So far, Jennifer Haller says she feels “great.”

“Yeah, I don't know if I'm feeling anxiety, but I mean, it's clear — life is not going to get close to normal until we find a vaccine,” Haller told KUOW’s Angela King. “And that's really hit home for me. Certainly the importance of the steps that I've taken to participate in this study and the steps that many, many others are taking to get us closer to that vaccine. “It is interesting that most of our hope right now seems to be on vaccine, which is who knows how far out -- 18 months, two years, 12 months?” Haller continued. “I don't know.” Haller is one of 45 people participating in the trial through the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute. She began getting a series of shots in late March. Now that she is done with the injections, she'll spend the next year undergoing blood draws to see how her body is responding to the vaccine. The vaccine doesn't contain any live or dead virus cells, so she cannot get the virus through the shots. NPR previously reported that the vaccine Haller is testing was initially developed by the National Institutes of Health, along with the Massachusetts-based biotech firm Moderna, Inc. She was warned about a range of side effects from the injections, but each time was the same.