East Midlands residents join the fight for COVID-19 vaccine

Over 17,000 East Midlands residents have put themselves forward to take part in COVID-19 vaccine research as part of the national effort to find a vaccine to prevent the spread of the virus.

Residents in the county have joined over 230,000 people from across the United Kingdom in signing up to the new NHS COVID-19 vaccine registry.

The registry allows people to indicate their interest in participating in essential research to test vaccines which are being developed to tackle the virus. 

Once a suitable study becomes available, people who have signed up will be contacted by researchers to invite them to take part.

A number of new vaccine trials for COVID-19 are expected to launch in the coming weeks, adding to those already underway across the UK.

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is working with the NHS and other partners to deliver research that will help identify vaccines to protect against coronavirus.

Professor David Rowbotham, Clinical Director for the NIHR Clinical Research Network East Midlands said:

“We’re incredibly grateful to everyone across the East Midlands who has signed up to take part in COVID-19 vaccine research. These research studies are a vital part of our response to the pandemic, and we are proud that so many people from our region are putting themselves forward as volunteers.

“It’s important that we involve people from all areas and backgrounds in this research, so I would urge everyone to sign up to the NHS COVID-19 vaccine registry. Everyone involved in coronavirus research is making an enormous contribution and we are proud that our region is at the very heart of the research response to the disease.”