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Ohio State still seeking volunteers for AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine trial

Doctors say that volunteers likely have a greater chance of receiving a vaccine as part of the trial compared to waiting for the general public rollout next year.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Local researchers are looking for a few good arms.

They still have open spots in the AstraZeneca COVID-19 clinical trial at OSU Wexner Medical Center.

“There’s light at the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel’s not as short as we want it to be, but there is light and hope,” said Dr. Susan Koletar, division director of infectious diseases at OSU Wexner Medical Center.

Dr. Koletar spoke of the promising results from the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine trials and the likelihood of the FDA approving their emergency authorization use.

But she pointed out the importance of having multiple vaccines, especially when they need to be distributed worldwide.

While some vaccines require frozen storage, AstraZeneca’s vaccine only needs to be refrigerated.

The AstraZeneca trial at OSU kicked off in early November, but researchers are still looking for more volunteers. The hope is to have a diverse group when it comes to age, race and health status.

The vaccine is called AZD1222 and was co-invented by the University of Oxford and its spin-out company, Vaccitech.

It uses a replication-deficient chimpanzee viral vector based on a weakened version of a common cold virus (adenovirus) that causes infections in chimpanzees and contains the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein.

After vaccination, the surface spike protein is produced, priming the immune system to attack the SARS-CoV-2 virus if it later infects the body.

The trial is double-blind, meaning that neither the researchers nor the volunteers know if they are receiving the actual vaccine or a placebo. It also has 2-to-1 randomization, meaning that two of three volunteers will get the actual vaccine.

“If you’re looking at statistics, and you’re just a regular person, walking around, not very ill, maybe not in one of the early priority groups. The chance of you getting active vaccine in this trial is almost higher than the chances of you getting an emergency use authorization,” she said.

If someone does sign up for the clinical trial and then learns he or she is eligible to receive one of the new vaccines through the state as they are being distributed to healthcare workers and first responders, arrangements can be made to receive that vaccine.

Dr. Koletar said there can be a discussion about being un-blinded so that the participant knows whether he or she received the actual vaccine or a placebo to then make the decision about whether to get a different vaccine.

But Dr. Koletar also points out that there is virtually no research yet focusing on the safety of getting two different brands of the vaccine, so each case would be discussed on an individual basis. For more information about the clinical trial, and to sign up, click here.

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