UK govt informs over 1,00,000 people volunteered for coronavirus vaccine trials

The United Kingdom government on August 17 informed that over 1,00,000 people have already signed up for future coronavirus vaccine clinical trials through the National Health Service (NHS) COVID-19 vaccine research registry. The British government is encouraging more people to sign up for the program in order to help the NHS battle the disease and ensure potential vaccines work for everyone. The government is urging more people to sign up for the program because scientists will need people from various backgrounds and ages to ensure the future vaccines are safe for everybody. 

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"I’m very grateful to those who have volunteered for researchers to contact them to take part in COVID-19 vaccine studies, via the NHS COVID-19 vaccine research registry. The more people who volunteer to take part the more likely we find an answer to whether any vaccine is effective. Having 100,000 volunteers in just four weeks shows the selflessness of the public and is testament to the speed of work done by the Vaccines Taskforce, National Institute for Health Research, and others to make signing up possible," UK's Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty was quoted as saying in a release issued by the UK government. 

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Trials to begin in September

The NHS COVID-19 Vaccine Research Registry is an online service allowing people to register their interest in vaccine studies and be contacted to participate in future clinical trials. The program was launched on July 20 and within a few days thousands of people signed up. Vaccines are tested in stages on groups of people that increase in every phase. As per the NHS program, participants will be informed at what stage their vaccine is and details of how it has already been tested. People can withdraw from the program at any point if they feel unsure or unsafe. The trials are expected to begin in September. 

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