A News & Observer article reports UNC Health and the School of Medicine are looking for 500 people willing to test a potential vaccine for COVID-19, one of what could be several opportunities for Triangle residents to take part in vaccine clinical trials for coronavirus in the coming months. The trials are open to almost everyone, but researchers are particularly looking for people who would most likely show whether the vaccine works, the article says.
“We are looking to enroll the people who are at the most risk for COVID, through no fault of their own, because they’re an essential worker, the occupation they have or where they live,” said Cynthia Gay, MD, MPH, associate professor in infectious diseases, who is leading the UNC study. “Really the risk comes down to people who are in contact with other people on a frequent basis.”
This means researchers want to attract people who have been reluctant to take part in clinical trials in the past, particularly Blacks and Latinos. The article reports African-Americans are slightly more likely to contract coronavirus but die from the disease at a higher rate and that Hispanics account for about 39% of coronavirus cases in North Carolina, even though they make up less than 10% of the population.
David Wohl, MD, professor medicine in the division of infectious diseases, who is leading efforts to test several COVID-19 treatments, said researchers must get out in the communities and recruit volunteers. He also recognized that UNC is “walking a line, wanting to include people of color and those vulnerable to COVID-19 without making them feel that the burden of testing vaccines or treatments rests solely on them.”
Read the article here.