Covid booster vaccine trial bids to recruit 185 volunteers
Nurse Eleanor Pinkerton prepares a coronavirus vaccine (Jane Barlow/PA)
A health board has started its appeal to recruit 185 volunteers for a world-first clinical trial to see whether a booster vaccine dose could protect people against Covid-19 and its variants.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) is the only area in Scotland taking part in the trial, which will be run at Glasgow Clinical Research Facility.
In total, 2,886 people aged 30 and older are being recruited at 18 NHS sites across the UK for the trial, with the first booster jabs administered in early June.
Joseph Gamp
PRINCE WILLIAM, 38, SHOWS OFF GUNS AS HE GETS VACCINE AFTER HAVING COVID LAST YEAR AS JABS OFFERED TO OVER-34S
Prince William, 38, shows off guns as he gets vaccine after having Covid last year as jabs offered to over-34s
Joseph Gamp
JAPAN APPROVES MODERNA AND ASTRAZENECA VACCINES
Japanese regulators recommended the approval of Covid-19 vaccines developed by Moderna Inc and AstraZeneca PLC on Thursday, paving the way for the country to speed up its slow-moving vaccination campaign.
The recommendations by a health ministry panel precede official approval by the government as early as Friday, health minister Norihisa Tamura said on Thursday.
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Patients are needed for a new Covid trial HEALTH chiefs have issued an appeal for people in Dumbarton and the Vale who have recently been diagnosed with Covid-19 to take part in a treatment trial. Researchers from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde are recruiting members of the public to help evaluate the effectiveness of antiviral tablet favipiravir in managing the disease. The medication targets the early stages of infection and must be taken within four days of a positive result. It is intended for people with milder symptoms who can safely take part from home. Half the patients involved will receive the drug twice a day for ten days alongside standard treatment, with the other half receiving standard treatment for comparison.
Antiviral tablet Favipiravir is already used in Japan for flu, and is made by Fujifilm Toyama Chemicals. It is now being trialled for use in Covid patients with milder symptoms by scientists in Glasgow who hope it could stop them developing serious ones. It has to be taken within four days of a positive test and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and the University of Glasgow are urging people who have been diagnosed with the infection to take part in a new study. The tablet can be taken at home, twice a day, and is intended for people with milder symptoms than those requiring hospital admission.