Vaccine trial offer to our frontline workers

Frontline healthcare workers in Renfrewshire could be involved in Covid-19 vaccine trials run by the University of Glasgow and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board.

The collaboration is part of the University of Oxford’s phase three of the trial, which involves assessing health and care staff living in Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Staff will be invited to take part in the trial if they are between 18 and 55 years old, healthy and have not been infected with Covid-19.

Frontline health, dental and care staff working in a coronavirus clinical area such as intensive care units, emergency departments, Covid-19 wards, community assessment centres, care homes and the ambulance service are encouraged to apply.

This also includes non-clinical staff such as those from portering and domestic services.

Around 250 people will initially be recruited, with participants randomised to receive one or two doses of either the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine or a licensed meningitis vaccine that will be used as a ‘control’for comparison.

Screening and vaccination of participants will begin in the next two weeks.

Participants will be involved in the trial for the next 12 months and will be supported by NHSGGC and University of Glasgow researchers throughout its duration.

The University of Oxford’s phase one trial of healthy adult volunteers began in April.

Emma Thomson, professor of infectious diseases at the MRCUniversity of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research and consultant in infectious diseases at NHSGGC, said:“The University of Glasgow is extremely proud to be leading the phase two and three part of the University of Oxford Covid-19 vaccine trial in Glasgow in partnership with the NHS.

“The vaccine will be tested initially in frontline healthcare staff in order to test the effectiveness and safety of immunisation in an at-risk group. “Although we are at still at a very early stage, we remain hopeful that the information we gather will contribute to international efforts to secure a vaccine to protect those most vulnerable.”