10,000 UK volunteers to take part in new COVID-19 vaccine trials

Ten thousand UK volunteers will be invited to join a leading phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial.

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Sep 25, R&D: Ten thousand UK volunteers will from today (Friday 25 September) be invited to join a leading phase 3 coronavirus vaccine trial, as the number of people who have signed up to take part in research hits 250,000.

The Phase 3 study will test the safety and effectiveness of a promising new vaccine, developed by US biotechnology company Novavax, across a broad spectrum of people, including those from various age groups and backgrounds. Phase 3 studies involve many thousands of people, giving researchers insights into the effects of a vaccine on a much larger population than phase 1 and 2 studies.

Calling on some of the thousands of volunteers who have joined the fight against coronavirus through the NHS Vaccine Registry, the phase 3 trials, which started yesterday (24 September), are the second to commence in the UK and will be undertaken at a number of National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) regional sites across the UK, including Lancashire, the Midlands, Greater Manchester, London, Glasgow and Belfast.

The Registry was launched in July to help create a database of people who consent to be contacted by the NHS to take part in clinical studies, to help speed up the development of a safe and effective vaccine.

With several more trials for potential vaccine candidates expected to start before the end of the year, UK researchers are calling for additional volunteers to sign up to take part in clinical studies. To better understand the effectiveness of vaccine candidates and help find a vaccine that works for as many people as soon as possible, researchers are particularly seeking more volunteers from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds as well as those with underlying health conditions and the over 65s.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma said:

I am incredibly proud of the 250,000 volunteers who have signed up to play their part in the global fight against coronavirus.

Our scientists and researchers are working day and night to find a vaccine that meets the UK’s rigorous safety standards, but we need even more people from all backgrounds and ages to sign-up for studies to speed up this life-saving research.

The more people that sign up, the quicker we can find a safe and effective vaccine, defeat this virus and protect millions of lives.

The UK government has secured 60 million doses of the Novavax vaccine, which will be manufactured using FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies’ facilities in Stockton-on-Tees, northeast England. This will ensure that once approved by regulators, the vaccine can be supplied as quickly as possible.

If any of the vaccines are successful in clinical trials, they could start to be delivered to the UK in 2021. It is expected that these vaccines would first be given to priority groups such as frontline health and social care workers, ethnic minorities, adults with underlying health conditions, and the elderly based on Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice.