USF Health and Tampa General Hospital will serve as a site for a clinical trial testing the Novavax NVX-CoV2373 COVID-19 vaccine. Some 250 Tampa Bay volunteers will be needed for the study.
Research physicians for the two entities join over 100 research sites across the country expected to enroll more than 30,000 adult participants in the worldwide search for a safe and effective vaccine against the contagious and sometimes deadly COVID-19 virus. Volunteer enrollment will begin shortly.
“This study expands current COVID-19 vaccine platforms by using a protein-based vaccine approach. We are looking for volunteers in our community ages 18 and older who represent diverse ethnic groups, occupations and risk factors backgrounds,” said Carina Rodriguez, M.D., professor and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Pediatrics in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. She is a principal investigator for the USF Health/TGH-based Phase 3 clinical trial with Novavax.
Researchers for both USF Health and Tampa General Hospital have been working since the start of the pandemic to find new treatments to fight the coronavirus that has killed more than 300,000 people in the United States alone.
While some vaccines are already rolling out in limited supplies, this study could make even more vaccines available.
For those interested in volunteering, there will be multiple locations from which to choose. Volunteers will have to meet a set of criteria, including having no current illness, being prepared to complete study activities, and being willing to participate in in-person clinic visits and telehealth visits by phone. A vaccine or placebo injection, surveys, blood draws and nose swabs are all part of the study. If it is determined that you are eligible for the trial, a member of the study team will discuss additional details with you.
