3,000 volunteers from Northamptonshire sign up for fight to find coronavirus vaccine

More than 3,000 people across Northamptonshire have volunteered to take part in research aimed at finding a Covid-19 vaccine.

In all, 3,070 residents from the county have joined more than 230,000 UK-wide in signing up to the NHS Covid-19 vaccine registry which was launched less than three three weeks ago.

The national registry allows people to indicate their interest in participating in essential research to test vaccines which are being developed to tackle the virus.

Once a suitable study becomes available, people who have signed up will be contacted by researchers to invite them to take part.

A number of new vaccine trials for Covid-19 are expected to launch in the coming weeks, adding to those already underway across the UK.

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is working with the NHS and other partners to deliver research that will help identify vaccines to protect against coronavirus.

Professor David Rowbotham, Clinical Director for the NIHR Clinical Research Network East Midlands said: “We’re incredibly grateful to everyone in Northamptonshire who has signed up to take part in COVID-19 vaccine research.

"These research studies are a vital part of our response to the pandemic, and we are proud that so many people across the East Midlands are putting themselves forward as volunteers.

“It’s important that we involve people from all areas and backgrounds in this research, so I would urge everyone to sign up to the NHS Covid-19 vaccine registry.

"Everyone involved in coronavirus research is making an enormous contribution and we are proud that our region is at the very heart of the research response to the disease.”

Vaccines are tested to make sure they're safe before being tested in people. If you take part in a vaccine study, you may or may not be offered the vaccine.

You'll need to visit the hospital, or other research site, a few times over 6 to 12 months.

At these visits, you'll usually be told about the research study; have the chance to ask any questions and have blood tests.

Between visits, you'll be asked to tell the research team about any symptoms you have. You may need to do some things at home, like take a throat and nose swab every week, or keep a diary.

Volunteers can sign up online HERE.

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