MADISON, Wis. (SPECTRUM NEWS) -- A historic and huge opportunity for Madison and the entire state emerges as UW Health announced participation in a COVID-19 vaccine trial. 

Sometime Wednesday, UW Health chief quality and safety officer Dr. Jeff Pothof will roll up his sleeve for the first COVID-19 vaccine trial in the country. 

"Not so much nervous. I'm just you know kind of excited to be part of this super important trial," Dr. Pothof, an ER and medflight physician. says.

He says he volunteered as patient number one in the nation’s new COVID-19 vaccine test because knows in doing so, he might encourage others to receive the potentially life-saving shot in the arm.

"If people can see me get it, I hope that makes them think, 'You know what, I'm going to be part of this solution too. I'm going to sign up, and I'm going to get this vaccine as part of a phase three trial,'" Dr. Pothof says. 

In total, the study hopes to enroll 1,600 Wisconsinites in the coming weeks. All individuals 18 and older will eventually be allowed to participate after undergoing a series of pre-test exams. Dr. Pothof says finding a large swath of Wisconsin recipients is critical for the final data. 

"I've got a 67% chance of it being the actual vaccine 33% chance of it being the placebo, and both are equally important because we want to show that people who get the vaccine, don't get COVID-19, and people who do not get the vaccine or get a placebo can get COVID-19. And that's how we show efficacy; that's how we'll know that the vaccine works," Dr. Pothof says.

Already proven safe in the first and second phases just seven weeks ago, UW Health was approached by Astrazenaca and ultimately tapped as one of the premier testing hospitals.

"They decided that, the University of Wisconsin was exactly the type of university that they were looking for to help initiate a study like this," Dr. William Hartman says. 

Hartman, the clinical trial’s lead investigator and UW Health anesthesiologist, knows the research is ready to be tested on the human population.

"This is a team that's committed to getting this trial done right. And so that, in the end, we're very confident that we know that this is a vaccine that will be a vaccine for the entire population," Hartman says.

As for Dr. Pothof, he'll receive a second shot in about 30 days and followed for the next two years with seven checkups. 

"To see, 'How does my body react when I make those neutralizing antibodies, those Killer T cells?'. One of the impacts might have on you know vital signs or other lab parameters," he says.

Nationwide, 30,000.individuals. will be needed for the study. Learn how to enroll by emailing uwcovidvaccine@clinicaltrials.wisc.edu. You can also call the hotline at 608-262-8300 or 833-306-0681.