TANIA A ONIS

Programme manager of the clinical research division at the Aurum Institute

ovid- threw many lives and livelihoods into disarray and resulted in over deaths in South Africa alone. espite this, Tania Adonis chooses to focus on the strengths that have been e posed by the pandemic in the clinical trials and research space. As the programme manager at the Aurum Institute an organisation dedicated to researching, supporting and implementing innovative, integrated approaches to global health — Adonis’s position comes with an enormous responsibility, which includes supporting four clinical research centres in Tembisa, Rustenburg and

lerksdorp.

“The Covid- pandemic forced the clinical research fraternity to become PRUH HIˋFLHQW DQG ZH ZHUH DEOH WR move from concept to emergencyuse authorisation in a matter of months, and this is largely due to FROODERUDWLYH ZRUN ODUJH ˋQDQFLDO investments, new adaptive platforms and clinical protocol designs. ur regulatory framework has also been strengthened and is able to fast track review of approval of critical clinical trials, as has our monitoring system,” says Adonis.

She was the coordinator for the Janssen Covid- clinical trial which enrolled about participants in less than a month. The Aurum Institute was the main research partner to the

orth West department of health in the Sisonke phase b open label implementation study in which almost half a million healthcare workers were vaccinated.

While full of optimism, Adonis says she misses direct human contact, particularly travelling to testing sites. Like most researchers, Adonis is concerned by the slow pace of vaccinations and even more troubled by the anti-vaccination sentiment. “As a research organisation, we do outreach programmes and provide vaccine education. Unfortunately, we are often restricted to the provinces and the communities in which we work. We still have a very long way to go. I feel that a lot more can be put into vaccine education. When you look at the myths and misconceptions that are circulating with regards to vaccines, you realise that there is a big gap to EH ˋOOHG 3HRSOH ZDQW LQIRUPDWLRQ DQG we need to provide the correct facts and educate them as much as we can,” she says.