BRYAN, Ohio — 9-year-old Nolan Roberts was playing outside his house in Bryan on Monday afternoon, just like any normal day.
But the pandemic has been everything but normal for kids like him who are used to being around friends.
"I kinda like the home school, but I'm missing my friends and doing school with them," said Nolan.
This summer, Nolan actually took it upon himself to get the ball rolling on being vaccinated.
"So, like, I can protect me and others and to start playing with my friends again," said Nolan.
WTOL 11 first told you about Nolan asking his parents to volunteer for the Pfizer vaccine trials for kids back in June.
Now, after two shots, we asked his mother Mindy Roberts where he's at in the process.
"Late June, we went down to Dayton for his second shot where we once again went through a nasal swab. He didn't have to do blood work this time, but another physical and many questions, you know, with the history that may have happened between his first shot and the second shot," said Mindy.
The way the study works is some kids are given the actual vaccine and others are given a placebo.
The family believes Nolan received the real one because he had a slight headache and felt tired after the shot.
"My hope is that other parents can see that these kids that were in the study and got the vaccine are doing okay. The side effects weren't bad and it's protecting them and you know they didn't get COVID, or if they did get COVID, it was very mild," said Mindy.
For now, it's a waiting game until they find out for certain if Nolan received the vaccine or a placebo. The answer will come in late December.
"I'm like, 'did I get the real one or not?' I can't wait anymore!" said Nolan with an excited tone in his voice.
But for his parents, it's a sense of relief he can soon go back to doing what 9-year-olds do.
"Get the vaccine. Nothing bad will happen," said Nolan. "Might be a little tired but nothing bad will overall happen. It's perfectly safe."
Right now, kids under 12 years old are not eligible to get any COVID-19 vaccine, but health officials say there could be enough data by early October for the FDA to consider if the shots are safe for children in that age range.