Baptist Health research group seeking volunteers for COVID-19 vaccine trial

Baptist Health Center for Clinical Research is conducting a late-stage, Phase 3 study on a potential COVID-19 vaccine, and is recruiting volunteers to participate.

Baptist Health Center for Clinical Research’s involvement is part of its Arkansas COVID Vaccine Initiative. Baptist Health is the only site in the state offering this study, which seeks to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of this vaccine candidate.

The center’s study coincides with a broader nationwide effort, Operation Warp Speed, which was announced in May as a public-private partnership to facilitate, at an unprecedented pace, the development, manufacturing and distribution of COVID-19 measures including vaccines, diagnostics and treatments. The goal is to develop a safe, effective vaccine for COVID-19 by January 2021.

“Everyone is at risk of infection, but at particular risk are people working outside of the home in health care, emergency response, factory settings with close quarters, hotels, restaurants, grocery stores and retail as well as city employees and any other occupation that involves contact with the public. In addition, all people over 65 are susceptible to developing severe complications from the disease,” Dr. Richard Pellegrino, CEO and president of the Baptist Health Center for Clinical Research, said in a statement. “No vaccine or specific antiviral treatment is currently available to fight COVID-19, and the best prevention method currently is to avoid exposure. There is an urgent public health need for rapid development of a vaccine to prevent the spread of the disease.”

Those interested in volunteering can visit this page. Filling out the form on the page does not commit a person to the study, but allows for a follow up contact to provide more information and to answer additional questions.

Study-related care is available to participants at no cost and health insurance is not required nor needed. Participants will be compensated for time and travel if they qualify and enroll in the COVID-19 vaccine study.