As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases approaches 15 million worldwide, two St. Louis universities have been selected to conduct vaccine trials. On Tuesday, the Saint Louis University Center for Vaccine Development and Washington University School of Medicine announced that they plan to enroll about 3,000 St. Louisans in different COVID-19 vaccine trials.
Participants in the trials will not be exposed to COVID-19 as part of the study; the universities are hoping to recruit volunteers who are likely to be exposed to the virus in their everyday routines, those at risk for adverse effects should they contract the virus, and those over the age of 65. Both schools are participating in trials as part of the new COVID-19 Prevention Network, an organization formed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to develop and test vaccines for the virus. SLU's Center for Vaccine Development includes one of only 10 Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units in the country and has 30 years of experience in testing new vaccines. There are 24 vaccines in clinical evaluation currently, according to the World Health Organization.
“St. Louisans will be key to the success of the vaccine trials,” said Dr. Sharon Frey, the clinical director of SLU’s Center for Vaccine Development and the principal investigator of the trial at SLU, in a statement. “A powerful example of the role the St. Louis community plays in advancing public health was seen in the community’s response to the 2009 pandemic influenza vaccine trial. We are deeply grateful for the support of the St. Louis community as we launch these trials, which represent our best hope to fight back against the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Wash. U.'s experience in working with the HIV community underscores how imperative community support can be in conducting these types of trials, said Dr. Rachel Presti, an associate professor of medicine, director of Washington University’s Infectious Disease Clinical Research Unit, and principal investigator for the AIDS Clinical Trials Group and the HIV Prevention Trials Network, in the release. “We are excited that the St. Louis community will have this opportunity to participate in historic clinical trials aimed at helping to identify the most effective vaccines for preventing COVID-19.”
The universities stated that they will share more information about the trials as it becomes available.
For more information about vaccine trials at Wash. U., email idcru@wustl.edu or call 314-454-0058.
For more information about vaccine trials at SLU, visit vaccine.slu.edu, call 314-977-6333 or 1-866-410-6333, or email vaccine@slu.edu.
