I'm an immunologist. Here's why I enrolled my baby and toddler in Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine trial.

• Sonali Bracken, MD, PhD is a physician in the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology at Duke University Medical Center.
• She recently enrolled her children in the trial for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
• Here's her story, as told to Jamie Orsini.

In August, my husband and I enrolled our children in the Pfizer clinical trial for the pediatric COVID-19 vaccine. To me, getting kids vaccinated is the most pressing pandemic issue right now.

I'm a physician and scientist by training. I have a medical degree and a Ph.D. in immunology, and I'm a rheumatology fellow at Duke University School of Medicine, where I see patients and do research. I'm also a mom of a 3-year-old son and a 9-month-old daughter.

I'm passionate about vaccines, and not just for COVID-19. As a doctor, I can treat symptoms and put Band-Aids on problems, but vaccines are some of the best treatments we offer to prevent many diseases before they begin.

When I learned that Duke is one of the sites facilitating the Pfizer study for younger kids, I signed up my children. They were able to get their first dose of the vaccine or placebo one week later, on August 10. They got their second dose on August 30.

Before we arrived, my husband and I explained the process to our toddler. I told him, "You're going to be part of this trial, and you're going to help everybody." He told us he wanted to be brave for all the kids. Not only was he brave, but he was supportive of his baby sister throughout the entire appointment.

The trial logistics were straightforward

To get into the trial, we answered lots of questions to make sure my kids met the criteria. There was paperwork, blood draws, and an evaluation by a physician's assistant. Every step of the way, the care team was transparent about what would happen and why.

The actual vaccine administration was just like any other appointment. We stayed for half an hour afterward to wait for possible side effects, just as an adult getting the COVID-19 vaccine would.

The only thing we're doing differently is providing follow-up data. For seven days after getting the vaccine, we recorded the kids' temperatures and any symptoms. Now we're doing weekly symptom diaries, and there will be check-ups for the next 26 months. So far the kids haven't had any symptoms.

To me, vaccination is the only option when it comes to COVID-19

As a scientist, a doctor, and someone who understands the effect of vaccines, I felt excited and had no qualms about enrolling my kids in this trial. I trust vaccines and the science behind their development.

People often forget that coronavirus vaccines and mRNA vaccines have been topics of research long before this pandemic began. This is a major reason we were prepared to produce vaccines so quickly.

In my mind, any theoretical risk of my kids getting the vaccine was far less concerning than the real risk of them contracting COVID-19 or spreading the disease to those who could get seriously ill. Not vaccinating my kids as soon as I could was a gamble my husband and I were not willing to take.

Many people have been exposed to misinformation about COVID-19 and the vaccines. It's hard to sort out misinformation from the truth. That's why I think it's so important to defer to the data showing us how safe and effective these vaccines are.

I understand that many families are not comfortable with enrolling their kids in clinical trials and want to wait until the vaccines have been granted full authorization before they sign their children up for shots. I hope that once this day comes, these parents will not ignore the hard work that my children and others have put in to bring this opportunity to the masses.

Years from now, when my children are older, I hope they'll be proud they participated in this trial. They're part of something historic. I hope someday they will read about this in their textbooks at school. I'm already so proud of them.