The first coronavirus vaccine trials in the US entering the third and final phase of the Food and Drug Administration are being conducted here in the Triangle.
“Really exciting times,” says Dr. Sam Fleishman, medical director of the Cape Fear Valley Health System. Fleishman is part of a consortium led by Raleigh-based Wake Research to test the Moderna coronavirus vaccine. The group is now enrolling volunteers this week.
“The first data looks very promising because it is a very successful potential vaccine for Covid-19,” Fleishman said when he described previous research. This phase of testing will take a couple of months, but Fleishman says Moderna has high goals: “Their hope is, you know, to get something on the market by the end of the year, which would be incredible.”
His work, with their help, would be a great step for the world to recover from this crippling pandemic, according to Fleishman, “If we can do this, then we can return to our lives to normal.”
Six Wake Research centers are participating in phase three trials of the Modern vaccine. In Raleigh, they participate in the Wake Research building on Duraleigh Road. In Fayetteville, they are held at the Carolina Clinical Research Institute in Quiet Cove.
The researchers are looking for local volunteers to participate by injecting genetically created antibodies, modeled on patients who beat COVID-19. Ideal candidates are from high-risk groups such as the elderly, essential / frontline workers, and people from minority communities affected by the virus.
“This is unprecedented. None of us were even trained in health care to figure out how to really deal with a pandemic, so everything has changed in life,” Fleishman describes of the past few months in the health care profession.
If you are interested in the Raleigh area, just text COVID at 919-276-8331. In Fayetteville, text COVID at 910-463-5578 and you can join the historic team that helps find the vaccine. Patients will be compensated for their time and travel. Fleishman says the real reward is finding something to stop the virus and fight it right here in our own backyard. “How excited we are in this part of the state, this part of the country to be a part of this is really exciting.”
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