With over 80 vaccines announced and 14 already in human trials, chances are a candidate vaccine for COVID-19 may be getting tested soon at a location near you. As these vaccines move into Phase 3 testing, where the goal is to really see if they’re effective against the virus, they will need thousands of volunteers. To help with that, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the US National Institutes of Health (the department with that Fauci guy) has created a central Coronavirus Prevention Network.
The site has information on what it means to take part in a clinical trial, and what you can expect if you sign up to take part in testing a candidate vaccine. The vaccines that are going into Phase 3 have already been tested with (at least) hundreds of volunteers to check for basic safety and determine the dosage necessary to generate a strong immune response. However, that doesn’t mean that being a volunteer is risk-free. After all, there are problems with flu vaccines that occur only once in tens of thousands of people … and these vaccines are as novel as the virus they’re out to control. In fact, at least two of the vaccines being tested in the United States use technology that has never been previously approved for a human vaccine. But if you’re interested … come inside.
Getting an early shot at a vaccine may sound like a great idea—or it may sound terrifying. There are definitely several things to keep in mind.
For one thing, there are shots involved. And yes, it may be multiple shots. While the goal with most vaccines is to get down to a single injection, at this stage just about every COVID-19 test involves at least two injections spaced a month apart. Also, because they’ll be testing for antibodies, the needles putting stuff in won’t be the only ones. You’ll also be getting blood samples, probably at intervals of a week or two, to help researchers learn about when the vaccine becomes effective and how long the effect last. In fact, you may be asked to come in for an extended period — including visits that could still be going on a year or more later when the vaccine has already been rolled out to the public (or … not).
A big thing to remember is that participating in the trial doesn’t mean you’re getting any jump on safety. Like … any. Because not only may the vaccine turn out to be ineffective, some people are going to receive placebos. You are unlikely to know for months if you really got the vaccine candidate at all.
If none of this sounds like a deal killer for you, come right this way.