Chapel Hill, NC Once the fight against COVID-19 pays off, UNC Health is looking for 500 volunteers to take part in a coronavirus vaccine study.
UNC Health is one of nearly 90 vaccine testing sites around the country conducting Phase III clinical trials to evaluate the effectiveness of a vaccine candidate developed by Moderna.
“There are multiple studies, but the goal is to find which one [potential vaccines] are effective and make them available to people at risk and, honestly, anyone if we have enough vaccine to do so, “said Dr Cindy Gay, lead researcher for the UNC Health trial.
Susan Pederson, clinical director at UNC Health’s Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, said it is critical that subjects reflect the people most affected when they are at risk for the virus in North Carolina.
“We are most interested in finding people of color who will be at risk because of COVID-19, people with underlying health conditions who are also at risk for adverse outcomes,” Pederson said.
The Latino community makes up less than 10 percent of North Carolina’s population, but accounts for 38 percent of the state’s coronavirus infections. Similarly, nearly one-third of the state’s deaths during the pandemic were Black individuals, although that race makes up 22 percent of the state’s population.
“Those at risk have a chance to benefit from the vaccine, if it is effective, and [it can] also benefit those around them, including their families and their larger communities, “Gay said.
Gay recognized that minority communities do not always trust medical researchers, and people may not be able to sign up for the clinical trial. But she said it was important for her to trust that UNC Health, which already works with Black and Latino communities statewide, has its best interests at heart.
“We hear, still hear, the words ‘guinea pig’ that have been widely circulated in research, but that is not the reason we are touching them,” she said. “We want them to benefit from the advances we make in vaccines and treatment and be a part of it.”
Participating in the study did not affect people’s daily lives, Gay said, noting that they should not quarantine or separate themselves from their families or employees. Participants can also earn up to $ 1,325, based on completed visits and study activities.
The only people who are unable to participate are those already infected with the virus, pregnant women, mothers with breastfeeding and people with acute illnesses or weakened immune systems, researchers said.
“Really, the risk comes down to people who are in contact with other people on a regular basis. Those are the people who seem to be at the highest risk,” Gay said. “That, we try to prioritize [them in the study] both for their benefit, if the vaccine is effective, and so we can get an answer as soon as possible as to whether the vaccine is effective. “
People can volunteer online for the subjects.
“We will not return to normal if we are all spectators and there are no people ready to step up, including ourselves,” said Dr David Wohl, an infectious disease specialist at UNC. “It’s very important for us to work as a community and to protect individuals, to protect our neighbors, to protect our loved ones, and we will not be able to do that unless some of us step up and say, ‘You know, I’m ready to be involved in that research. I think it’s important to find out. ‘”
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