How are COVID-19 vaccine trials: The volunteers' story
With more than 10 vaccines entering human trials, there are thousands of people asked to volunteer for COVID-19 vaccine trials. There are a set of regulations for those volunteering for clinical vaccine trials such as normal blood pressure and sugar, pregnant women and children are not allowed. Once injected with the participant vaccine, the doctor-in-charge explains the journey ahead and hands over the Informed Consent Document outlining the vaccine in detail, potential side effects (fever and chills), the number of appointments expected, the reimbursements they would receive for hospital visits, etc. The participants will also be monitored for side effects for the next six months (187 days).
Currently, there are more than thousands of trials taking place around the world testing 50+ vaccine candidates, where adults from all parts of the society are recruited, especially those that will be benefited from the vaccine such as older people. It might be that different vaccines may require different groups of people. The most important thing for the researchers and the healthcare staff is to ensure the safety of the participants in the research studies. The companies that are in the front of the COVID-19 vaccine trials are Pfizer and Moderna. Other companies working their way up the ladder of vaccine development are Novavax, CanSino Biologics, Johnson & Johnson, Gamaleya Research Institute, AstraZeneca, etc.
The WHO has launched the COVID-19 candidate vaccine landscape that keeps everyone updated with the latest information on COVID-19 vaccine trials and candidates in development. It
- provides summary tables of COVID-19 vaccine candidates in both clinical and preclinical development;
- provides analysis and visualization for several COVID-19 vaccine candidate categories;
- tracks the progress of each vaccine from pre-clinical, Phase 1, Phase 2 through to Phase 3 efficacy studies.
