Cornwall takes part in vaccine research

RESEARCHERS at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust are running a new study which could set the foundations for how booster Covid-19 vaccinations are delivered in the future.

The study, supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network South West Peninsula (CRN SWP), will determine whether booster Covid-19 vaccines should be given at the same time as flu vaccines.

While there are vaccines that have been approved to protect against Covid-19 in the UK, it is not yet known whether further booster doses may be required to give continued protection, and how giving boosters might fit in with the seasonal flu jab programme.

The new study, being led by Bristol Trials Centre at the University of Bristol and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW), will look at the sideeffects and immune response given when people receive their Covid-19 booster and flu vaccine at the same appointment.

The study will involve people aged 18 or over who have received their first Covid-19 vaccination and are awaiting their second dose. It will look to recruit 504 participants across six NHS sites: Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, North Bristol NHS Trust, Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust and UHBW.

Each participant will receive the second dose of the same Covid-19 vaccine they originally received, either the Pfizer/ BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine or the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab. Participants who are eligible to take part will then be allocated into one of two groups – one group will receive their second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and the flu vaccine at their first visit, then a saline injection at their second visit; the other group will receive their second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and a saline injection at their first visit and then the flu vaccine at their second visit.

Dr David Tucker, Consultant Haematologist at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust and Principal Investigator for the study locally, said: “This is a vital piece of research because it aims to show that both the Covid vaccine and the winter flu vaccine can be given safely and effectively at the same appointment, allowing us to roll this out next winter as a way of protecting millions across the UK from seasonal flu and possible variants of Covid-19.”