Jacksonville research group seeks participants for new COVID-19 vaccine trial

JACKSONVILLE, Florida. – Researchers at the Jacksonville Center for Clinical Research (JCCR) are recruiting people to participate in an upcoming trial of a new COVID-19 vaccine.

The FLirt variant is the latest sub-variant of the Omicron version of COVID-19.

The new vaccine, which does not yet have a name, would no longer require needles because it is administered in pill form.

Pharmaceutical company Vaxart, based in San Francisco, California, makes the vaccine and began developing it in 2020.

Director Dr. Michael Koren and his team at JCCR are one of a handful of national research centers chosen by Vaxart to conduct Phase 2 trials of the oral vaccine.

Phase 1 focused on security. Phase 2 will focus on the effectiveness of the vaccine.

Koren said he received interest from several attendees.

“This is exciting for people who want to be part of the story of the development of the new COVID-19 vaccine. They want to protect themselves and their families, and as part of that, everyone will receive updates on their vaccination profile,” Koren said. “If you have been hesitant to get involved before or had concerns about the vaccine, this may be a comfortable way to do so. »

Unlike current messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccines that must be stored in special freezers to maintain their effectiveness before being injected, the new oral vaccine is stable at room temperature.

According to researchers, the new oral vaccine inhibits airborne transmission of COVID-19 by reducing shedding. Viral shedding occurs when an infected person releases copies of the virus from their body by sneezing or coughing. People with COVID-19 shed the virus for about 10 days.

“Ultimately, the amount of viral shedding is one of the metrics we look at when we study whether these things are effective or not, so I hope that at the first level, people don’t get sick. If they get sick, the amount of virus they produce is less than they would otherwise,” Koren said.

Researchers said the new oral vaccine has been shown to be effective against the original version of COVID-19 and earlier variants of COVID-19, but there is not enough data to determine its effectiveness on the new FLirt variant .

Koren said part of the problem is how quickly the virus continues to advance.

“Going forward, we will look at the situation the same way we look at the flu. Every year there may be a strain of flu, and sometimes vaccines are more or less effective, but as we learn more, we come to understand the key point of the virus to create an antibody response,” Koren said . said.

Phase 2 trials of the new oral vaccine begin in two weeks. This will last a year.

Participants will only need to visit the research center six times during the trial.

Anyone interested in participating in the trial can call 904-730-0101.