SANTA CLARA, Calif. (KRON) — Kaiser Permanente is taking part in the last phase of a COVID-19 vaccine trial.
This trial is part of a global vaccine study.
A South Bay Kaiser will be among those to test the vaccine.
Kaiser plans to enroll approximately 1,400 participants at four sites in California and Oregon. Santa Clara Medical Center is one of those sites.
Kaiser Permanente began Phase Three of the COVID-19 clinical trial in late July.
The vaccine tested in this trial is developed by pharmaceutical company Pfizer and a German biotechnology called Biontech.
Hundreds of volunteers are needed and will be targeted.
“We’re looking to enroll adults who are between the ages of 18 and 85 who are healthy,” Dr. Nicola Klein, MD, PhD and director of the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center said. “We’re also looking at individuals who have a number of underlying conditions who are at risk getting the COVID disease through their underlying conditions.”
Dr. Klein is the director of Kaiser’s Vaccine Study Vaccine Study Center.
She says researchers will also be looking at individuals through their healthcare worker status or by being in a racial and ethnic minority.
Neither the participants nor clinicians will know who is getting the vaccine or the placebo.
“Half of the participants will get the vaccine, the other half the placebo,” Dr. Klein said. “Those are two dose. the doses are 21 days apart.”
Volunteers will be monitored for the next two years.
Data will be gathered about safety, immune response and efficacy as required for regulatory review.
Kaiser has done vaccine testing for 30 years and are also involved in another COVID-19 experimental vaccine co-developed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Moderna.
There’s still no answer when we can expect a vaccine to be approved but the race is on which pharmaceutical companies will win regulatory approval before the end of the year.
If you’re interested in participating in this clinical study – you have to be a patient with Kaiser. You can find more information here.
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