PEOPLE in Wales who are interested in getting involved in new coronavirus vaccine trials can sign up to receive information through a new NHS service.
The new NHS Covid-19 vaccine research registry will help large numbers of people be recruited into the trials over the coming months, potentially leading to an effective vaccine being identified and made available earlier to the UK public.
The registry has been developed in partnership with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), NHS Digital, and the Welsh, Northern Ireland and Scottish Governments, as part of the UK Government’s Vaccine Taskforce project.
A number of vaccines have been identified and are being safety-tested, but only large scale trials can give scientists the information needed about how effective they are.
Working with the NHS across the UK, the NIHR aims to recruit more than 500,000 people to the registry, which will enable them to put in touch with the vaccine trials in the coming months.
Researchers are looking for people from all backgrounds, ages and parts of the UK, including both people with or without existing health conditions, to take part in vaccine studies, to make sure that any vaccines developed will work for everyone.
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“I’m pleased that Wales is a part of this UK-wide online registry, which will be a vital tool in the fight against COVID-19," said health minister Vaughan Gething.
“As large scale vaccine trials get underway in the UK in the coming weeks and months,this new system will enable researchers to quickly identify and match suitable and willing volunteers to appropriate trials.
“Those who choose to take part, could help researchers find a vaccine to protect us all.”
The service is available to anyone aged 18 or over, living in the UK. To register, people fill in some personal and contact details, and answer a series of basic health screening questions on an NHS.UK website form. The service is highly secure, with personal data and permissions held in a NHS system managed by NHS Digital, the national organisation responsible for IT in the health and social care system.
People registering their details through the service are not signing up to take part in a specific trial or study. Instead, researchers working on vaccine studies supported by the NIHR will be able to search for volunteers who have signed up to the service.
When a suitable volunteer has been identified, the researchers will send an email or text to anyone who matches the criteria for their study. This will provide more information about the study - and offer the user the opportunity to contact the research team and find out more, or express an interest to take part.
There is no obligation to take part in any study and people who sign up can change their mind and remove their contact details from the registry at any time.
For more details, visitr www.nhs.uk/researchcontact
More information about taking part in research and other opportunities to take part in COVID-19 research can be found at www.bepartofresearch.uk
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