Are you at high-risk for contracting COVID? Ohio State wants you

The Wexner Medical Center is looking for volunteers for a COVID-19 vaccine trial

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is looking for 500 adult volunteers for a COVID-19 vaccine trial. The study is specifically geared toward volunteers who are at a high risk of contracting the virus, such as teachers, first responders, college students, factory workers, restaurant employees and those age 65 or older.

The hospital is part of a multicenter, 30,000 participant clinical trial that intends to test the new vaccine, co-developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, according to a press release. The double-blind study will give volunteers either the vaccine, called AZD1222, or a placebo and follow up with them for two years afterward.

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“We’re thrilled that Ohio State can bring this COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial to central Ohio,” said Dr. Rama Mallampalli, chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. “Our hospitals and researchers are uniquely qualified to conduct these trials with the aim of saving lives in our community and beyond.”

Dr. Susan Koletar, director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center and principal investigator of the study, said the collaborative effort is one of many COVID-19 clinical trials being conducted at Ohio State.

Anyone interested in volunteering for the study can sign up here.

EDITOR’S NOTE: AstraZeneca has temporarily paused this trial as a result of what they’re calling a routine precaution following an unexplained illness in one of their volunteers in the United Kingdom.

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