Latest COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Study Opens in North West London
The latest COVID-19 vaccine booster study has launched in North West London. Around six hundred volunteers are set to be recruited to the study across the UK.
There are two recruiting sites locally — Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow (part of London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust) and The Good Practice in Chelsea. Participants will receive a ‘booster’ vaccine to tackle COVID-19 infections, as part of an ongoing clinical study, run by the pharmaceutical company Sanofi with the adjuvanted recombinant COVID-19 vaccine they are developing in partnership with GSK.
The purpose of this study is to examine to what extent a single booster injection safely creates a broad immune response against the different COVID-19 variants, in participants who have previously been fully vaccinated with an authorised COVID-19 vaccine.
Participants will be asked to attend a minimum of six study visits, and their health will be monitored for 12 months. Those interested in volunteering for the trial can find out more by visiting the study website.
The study is open to adults aged 18-years-old and above, with participants enrolled across two groups (or cohorts), who have previously been vaccinated against COVID-19. A broad range of people may be included, from those who are healthy to those with health problems that put them at risk for complications due to COVID-19.
Recruitment to the study has already begun in the United States, in Australia and France, and will soon begin in Spain.
Those involved may contribute to the development of an additional vaccine that works for the good of global public health.
Initial data from the study are expected to be available in quarter 4 of 2021.
The first group of volunteers for the study will be vaccinated in September 2021, and a proportion of potential participants will be identified through the NHS COVID-19 Vaccine Research Registry, which currently has over 511,000 people signed up.
To register interest in vaccine studies and sign up to be contacted by researchers, people can visit the NHS COVID-19 Vaccine Research Registry (www.nhs.uk/researchcontact).
Professor Adam Finn, Chief Investigator for the study, said:
"Throughout the pandemic we have seen excellent engagement and participation from the public within multiple pivotal vaccine studies. By examining the safety and effectiveness of the booster vaccine from Sanofi, it’s hoped researchers and participants can help add another option to our current portfolio of vaccines.
"Booster vaccines from different suppliers will give us a broader range of vaccines and help us to reinforce supply as we look to boost immunity in the population going forward, as needed."
Dr Ashley Whittington, Principal Investigator of the trial at Northwick Park Hospital, said:
"Volunteers in our region have already played a major role in helping us find vaccines that work for COVID-19.
"Testing booster vaccines is the next step we need to take to protect as many people as possible as we adapt to living with COVID-19. I’m proud we are delivering this important study and giving local people the opportunity to take part."
Professor Andrew Ustianowski, National Clinical Lead for the UK NIHR COVID Vaccine Research Programme, said:
"In addition to the several other COVID-19 vaccine studies running across the UK, this latest booster study from Sanofi will help inform future vaccine plans across the UK and beyond.
"As more of the population become fully vaccinated, research and studies such as this continue to strengthen our understanding of how we can help protect everyone against coronavirus moving forward."
Find out more and sign-up to the study.
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