Oxford University wants Edinburgh volunteers for Covid-19 vaccine trial

The trial, designed to test the effectiveness of a potential vaccine for coronavirus, will last for 12 months.

The University of Oxford is currently recruiting residents from Edinburgh and the Lothians for a trial designed to test a potential vaccine for Covid-19.

Scientists hope to sign up more than 10,000 people at various sites across the UK for the study, half of whom will be randomly chosen to be given a dose of the candidate vaccine, ‘ChAdOx1 nCoV-19’.

The other half will be given ‘MenACWY’, a commonly used vaccine for Meningitis, which scientists do not expect to offer any protection against coronavirus.

The University of Oxford is currently recruiting residents from Edinburgh and the Lothians for a trial designed to test a potential vaccine for Covid-19.

While trial sites are being set up across the UK, the University has specifically called for people based in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife, and the Borders, to participate.

Dr Tonia Thomas, Project Manager at the Oxford Vaccine Centre, said: “We have set up multiple study sites across the UK to deliver the Phase II/III trial as rapidly as possible.”

After a 90 minute vaccination session, participants in Group 4 of the study, which will include those from Edinburgh and the Lothians, will be given a thermometer, a tape measure, and an E-diary, to record all their symptoms for a week after the injection.

Group 4 participants will be asked to attend six visits over the course of 12 months.

But volunteers from the region will not be reimbursed for their time, travel, or for the inconvenience of the procedures.

The university hopes that by the end of the trial in mid 2021, results can show them what protection from coronavirus, ‘ChAdOx1 nCoV-19’ gave participants.

The nationwide trial also hopes to produce information on how well volunteers’ immune systems respond to immunisation with the candidate vaccine.

Volunteers must be aged 18 or over, and be in good health. Those who have tested positive for coronavirus, or are pregnant or breastfeeding, cannot take part.

For more information on the trial, visit the study’s website here.

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