CPFT joins new Covid-19 vaccine trial
People across Cambridgeshire are invited to join another leading Covid-19 vaccine trial, as research teams from local NHS Trusts work together to secure a range of vaccines to help tackle coronavirus.
CPFT colleagues are working with Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) and Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (RPH) to test the safety and effectiveness of a new vaccine, developed by The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.
The study will recruit up to 30,000 people worldwide, including 6,000 in the UK. Around 330 volunteers from a variety of age groups and backgrounds across Cambridgeshire are being invited to participate, after they signed up to the NHS Covid-19 Vaccine Research Registry (NHS.UK/researchcontact).
To date, over 4,700 people in Cambridgeshire have signed up to the NHS Covid-19 Vaccine Research Registry to be contacted about taking part in coronavirus vaccine studies. Although recently announced interim results from University of Oxford, Pfizer/BioNTeCH and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine trials are significant steps forward, the vaccines have not yet been approved for use in the UK. Different vaccines work in different ways, and urgent clinical trials into COVID-19 vaccines are still needed to ensure everyone can benefit.
Research teams at CPFT, CUH and RPH formed a milestone partnership earlier this year to work on the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine trial, which has recently published promising interim results. They recruited more than 400 members of NHS staff who are participating in the trial, and continue to work together on urgent public health studies.
Dr Ben Underwood, Deputy Medical Director and Clinical Director of CPFT's Windsor Research Unit said: "Covid-19 has been the biggest challenge to our health in the last 100 years, and urgent research is vital to develop effective vaccines to protect people around the world. The UK’s established NIHR clinical research network provides the infrastructure, expertise and skills needed to do this work safely at pace and scale. CPFT is proud to support NHS Trust partners with our specialist team dedicated to delivering clinical trials.”
Dr Frank McCaughan, Lung Cancer Lead and Principal Investigator leading the trial at CUH, said: “The recent news about vaccine trials is promising, but it is extremely important that other vaccine trials continue to be carried out to completion. We hope this will allow us to have a selection of vaccines to protect the whole population. We are delighted to be able to offer more chances to people in the area to be a part of this process, and are grateful to be able to work with colleagues from around the world to find ways to tackle this coronavirus.”
People in the UK can support the national effort to speed up vaccine research and receive more information about volunteering for clinical studies by signing up to join the NHS Covid-19 Vaccine Research Registry at: www.nhs.uk/researchcontact
Although a vaccine is not yet approved for the UK, once a vaccine is available, a process will be put in place so people already taking part in a UK trial are not disadvantaged and as many as possible can still have an approved vaccine when this is available.
If you have further questions about vaccine studies please visit the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Be Part of Research website at www.bepartofresearch.nihr.ac.uk/vaccine-studies.
