Vaccine Trial Needs Diversity

People react differently to medications

The COVID-19 Prevention Network is conducting a Phase 3 clinical trial for a COVID-19 vaccine. The Network was formed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health to respond to the global pandemic.

You may find information about the clinical trial here.

The study is being conducted at various locations around the U.S. and researchers are specifically looking for people of color (African-Americans, Blacks and Hispanics) and people from areas around the country that have been hit hard by the pandemic.

According to the FDA, participants in clinical trials should represent the patients that will use the medical products. This is often not the case–racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in clinical research. This is a concern because people of different ages, races, and ethnicities, may react differently to medical products.

You can learn more about clinical trials in general on the National Institutes of Health site here.

You can also learn about the importance of racial and ethnic minority participation in clinical trials here.