Covid booster jag trials begin in Glasgow

Trials have officially begun in Glasgow for a Covid booster jag. The CovBoost vaccine booster study has had several applicants already, and is specifically looking for over 70s to apply to take part.

The Cov-Boost study, backed by £19.3 million of government funding through the Vaccines Taskforce, will be held at Glasgow Clinical Research Facilities – one of 16 sites across the UK. It will become the first in the world to provide data on the impact of a third dose on patients’ immune responses.

What is the purpose of the Covid booster jag?

It will give scientists and experts behind the UK’s COVID-19 vaccination programme a better idea of how effective a booster of each vaccine is in protecting the individual from the virus.

The initial findings, which are expected to be released in September, will help inform decisions by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on any potential booster programme from autumn this year, ensuring the country’s most vulnerable are given the strongest possible protection over the winter period.

Vaccines being trialled include Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Novavax, Valneva, Janssen and Curevac, as well as a control group.

One booster will be provided to each volunteer and could be a different brand to the one they were originally vaccinated with.

The study will be recruiting participants through the NHS COVID-19 Vaccine Research Registry, with vaccinations set to start from June.

Who can volunteer?

Participants will be adults aged 30 years or older and will include those immunised early on in the vaccination programme - such as adults aged 75 and over or health and care workers.

The study will take place at 16 sites across the UK, and will include a total of 2,886 patients. All participants will be monitored throughout the study for any potential side effects and will have bloods taken to measure their immune responses at days 28, 84, 308 and 365, with a small number having additional blood tests at other times.

Professor Saul Faust, Chief Investigator and Director of NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility, said: "This trial will give the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation the important data to inform their recommendations of how to protect the population against any future wave.

"It is fantastic that so many people across the country have taken part in vaccine trials up to now so that we can be in a position to study the effects of boosters, and we hope that as many people as possible over the age of 30 who received their first dose early in the NHS programme will be able to take part."

Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, Health and Social Care Secretary, said: "We will do everything we can to future-proof this country from pandemics and other threats to our health security, and the data from this world-first clinical trial will help shape the plans for our booster programme later this year.

"I urge everyone who has had both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, and is eligible, to sign up for this study and play a part in protecting the most vulnerable people in this country and around the world for months and years to come."

Professor Julie Brittenden, Director of Research and Innovation, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: "Vaccines are an incredibly important tool for our fight against COVID-19. The team based at our Glasgow Clinical Research have been at the forefront of COVID research over the past year.

"Their work has been vital in developing the vaccines that are now being rolled out across the world. With this study we are supporting further research into the effectiveness of booster vaccines and hope our community will continue to support this vital research.

"Those wishing to take part should sign up to the NHS COVID-19 Vaccine Research Registry and we expect to welcome first patients onto the study in June."

Professor Emma Thomson, Professor in Infectious Diseases at University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, and study lead in Glasgow, said: "This study marks the next step forward in our efforts to understand how to best protect the population and inform future vaccine booster programmes.

"It is the first in the world to provide data on the impact of a third dose and will study seven different vaccines, providing important recommendations for the future."

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