Volunteers from the Southampton area are being asked to sign up to the latest COVID-19 vaccine study to be rolled out across the UK.
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)-supported Valneva Phase 2/3 study is open to healthy adults who have not had a previous COVID-19 vaccine.
4,000 participants will be recruited across the UK, and everyone involved in the study will receive two active vaccine doses, administered in a four-week interval.
Those enrolled in the study over the age of 30 will be randomised to receive two doses of either the Valneva vaccine, or the approved Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
Participants aged 18 - 29 can be enrolled into the study to receive the Valneva vaccine and will not be offered the approved Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
Developed by the specialty vaccine company Valneva, the vaccine is being manufactured at the company's site in Livingston, West Lothian, and is the only inactivated, adjuvanted (an ingredient to create a stronger immune response) COVID-19 vaccine in clinical development in Europe.
Volunteers for the study will be vaccinated at the beginning of May, and a proportion of potential participants will be identified through the NHS COVID-19 Vaccine Research Registry, which currently has over 480,000 sign ups. Subject to successful Phase 2/3 data, Valneva aims to make regulatory submissions for initial approval in the autumn of 2021.
If Valneva's vaccine is shown to be safe and effective, up to 250 million vaccine doses could be supplied to the UK and other countries around the world. As part of the UK government's vaccine procurement approach, up to 100 million doses of this vaccine have been secured.
