"I would strongly recommend taking part in a vaccine study if you get the opportunity..."

The race to find a coronavirus vaccine has been under way for some time – with the first being approved in the UK last week.

But as the news about the Covid vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech has paved the way for vaccinations to start in the coming days, other trials are continuing.

It is important work. The world will need several vaccines on tap if it is to shed the virus. And with early trials coming back positively, it is hoped many of the other vaccines will be approved and become available.

The Covid-19 vaccine research registry was launched in the summer and more than 23,000 people have now signed up in the North East and North Cumbria - however more are needed to register their interest to take part.

The Novavax phase three Covid-19 vaccine trial has achieved its recruitment target just two months after opening in the UK – with 15,203 volunteers from across the country recruited in record time.

It is now the largest double blind, placebo-controlled phase three Covid vaccine trial to be undertaken in the UK so far.

Tony Turnbull is a retired solicitor and farmer who recently took part in a vaccine study in Hartlepool. He shares his experience with us in the hope it will encourage others to volunteer for research...

“I retired from legal practice nine years ago and farming three years ago which has left me with plenty of free time. I live in Barnard Castle and after retiring from farming I decided to do some voluntary hospital driving, which ceased with the advent of Covid-19. Shortly afterwards I heard that our local GP practice was looking for volunteers to deliver prescriptions to patients from the outlying villages and farms who, for various reasons, were unable to collect them themselves and I have been doing this ever since. It can sometimes take as long as a couple of hours but I enjoy doing it as it has allowed me to get out and about at a time when I’d otherwise have been restricted to staying in the house with the odd walk to relieve the boredom.

“My wife Jo (in particular) and I are inclined to do voluntary work when the mood takes us and at an early stage in the pandemic resolved that if there was anything we could do to help achieve a solution to bring an end to it then we wanted to be part of it. A lot of people in our area were (and still are) frightened of going on trials and didn’t appreciate how safe it was but my family and I wanted to do our bit. For me, the real risk of Covid-19 was, and still is, of anything happening to either my wife or myself in view of our respective ages (75 & 74).

“When I heard that there was a Covid-19 Vaccine Research Registry seeking people to enrol in Covid-19 studies I put my name down. Shortly thereafter I was told that a study was about to start and was looking for people from the County Durham area ,and as it was the only local trial I could be involved in at that time, I went for it.

“Initially taking part in the study was irritating. I had to fill in an online screening questionnaire from an American Company which kept freezing and dropping the link and if it hadn’t been for the fact that others in my family had persevered and successfully navigated their way through it I would have given up. Nevertheless I got through it in the end and very quickly thereafter received an invitation from Hartlepool Hospital to join the Trial, which impressed and relieved me in equal measure.

“My first visit started with a health check and screening. The staff really put me at ease and were very friendly and professional. I wasn’t nervous and the first thing they did was to test me for Covid-19, then they took my blood pressure, after which a blood sample was taken and I was also asked questions to ensure that I understood what was involved in the Trial and that I was taking part voluntarily. I then got the green light and was accepted onto the Trial. I was given my first (painless) injection then I was escorted to the recovery room for a brief time for monitoring (and a cup of tea) and an appointment was made for my second visit.

“I received my Covid-19 test result after a couple of days and it was negative.

“I had my second visit on 2nd November, I had a blood test then my second injection, this was given in the opposite shoulder to the first, and they also did some health checks and took my blood pressure followed by the same recovery and appointment procedure as previously.

“My third appointment, for the antibody blood test, was on 17th November and didn’t take very long at all. Again I was very impressed by the friendliness and professionalism of the medical and research staff. A further follow up appointment has been made for 29th January.

“I would strongly recommend taking part in a vaccine study if you get the opportunity and I will let you know how my next follow up goes.”

People wishing to volunteer to support clinical trials can sign up with the NHS Covid-19 vaccine research registry, developed in partnership with NHS Digital.

Anyone living in the UK can sign up online to take part in the trials by visiting NHS.uk/researchregistry