COVID-19 vaccine trial moves to next stages
- 22 May 2020
- 1 min read
Recruitment has started for the next phase of trials of a vaccine for COVID-19.
The University of Oxford trial, supported by the NIHR Clinical Research Network Thames Valley and South Midlands, will enrol up to 10,260 healthy adults and children at participating UK sites.
It follows the recruitment of more than 1,000 healthy volunteers for the first phase of the trial into safety and the immune response to the vaccine last month.
The second phase involves expanding the age range of people the vaccine is assessed in, for ages five to 12 and 56 and older.
Researchers want to see if there is variation in how well the immune system responds in older people or children.
The third phase involves assessing how well the vaccine works to prevent over 18s from becoming infected and unwell with COVID-19.
People in the second and third phase will randomly be allocated the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine or a meningitis vaccine that will be used as a ‘control’ for comparison.
Visit the study website for details of how to volunteer.
ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 is made from a virus which is a weakened version of a common cold virus that has been genetically changed so it is impossible to replicate in humans.
Professor Andrew Pollard, head of the university’s Oxford Vaccine Group, said: “The clinical studies are progressing very well and we are now initiating studies to evaluate how well the vaccine induces immune responses in older adults, and to test whether it can provide protection in the wider population.
“We are very grateful to the huge support of the trial volunteers in helping test whether this new vaccine could protect humans against the pandemic coronavirus.”
