LAKELAND, Fla. — Accel Research Sites wants to get the word out that they are conducting a clinical trial in Florida for the Novavax pediatric coronavirus vaccine.
The trial, which is being held in Lakeland, is seeking at least 50 volunteers between the ages of 12-17, and participants will be compensated.
"We’ll need the parents with the adolescent to sign consent and assist them with all the requirements of the study, including make sure all the diaries are done," said Dr. Bruce Rankin, Medical Director of Accel Clinical Research.
Rankin said volunteers will be given a COVID-19 vaccine created by Novavax, a Maryland-based biotechnological company. Its vaccine is purified protein-based, similar to the other COVID-19 vaccines and requires two doses.
He said even if a child has already had COVID-19 they can still participate in the clinical trial.
"We have to represent it the same way we would do real-life vaccines. We know when we’re vaccinating people now, some of them already have antibodies to COVID, so we’re boosting that immunity," Rankin said.
Accel is also conducting a separate study of Moderna's pediatric COVID-19 vaccine. Researchers said the sooner we get children safely vaccinated, the quicker we can stop the spread.
"We need to slow down the transmission of the virus, to slow down the number of variants and to get herd immunity," Rankin said.
The goal is to have the trial completed by this summer before students return to school.
Parents or guardians who are interested in having their child volunteer should contact Accel Research Sites.
