LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Baptist Health Center for Clinical Research is conducting a late-stage, Phase 3 study on a potential COVID-19 vaccine, and is recruiting volunteers to participate.
Baptist Health Center for Clinical Research’s involvement is part of its Arkansas COVID Vaccine Initiative. Baptist Health is the only site in the state offering this study, which seeks to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of this vaccine candidate.
Baptist Health Center for Clinical Research’s study coincides with a broader nationwide effort, Operation Warp Speed, which was announced in May as a public-private partnership to facilitate, at an unprecedented pace, the development, manufacturing and distribution of COVID-19 measures including vaccines, diagnostics and treatments. The goal is to develop a safe, effective vaccine for COVID-19 by January 2021.
“Everyone is at risk of infection, but at particular risk are people working outside of the home in health care, emergency response, factory settings with close quarters, hotels, restaurants, grocery stores and retail as well as city employees and any other occupation that involves contact with the public. In addition, all people over 65 are susceptible to developing severe complications from the disease,” says Richard G. Pellegrino MD, PhD, CEO and President of the Baptist Health Center for Clinical Research.
“No vaccine or specific antiviral treatment is currently available to fight COVID-19, and the best prevention method currently is to avoid exposure. There is an urgent public health need for rapid development of a vaccine to prevent the spread of the disease.”
If you are interested and would like more information, please visit arkansascovidvaccine.com and fill out the contact form. Filling out the form does not commit you to the study, but you will be contacted to provide more information and to answer additional questions.
Study-related care is available to participants at no cost and health insurance is not required nor needed. Participants will be compensated for time and travel if they qualify and enroll in the COVID-19 vaccine study.
Baptist Health Center for Clinical Research operates as the clinical research arm for Baptist Health. Since 2013, it has participated in over 100 studies in areas like internal medicine, neurology, vaccines, infectious disease, orthopedics, men’s health and women’s health. For more information about the Center for Clinical Research’s current studies and how to participate, visit bhccr.com.
Baptist Health is Arkansas’ most comprehensive health care organization with more than 200 points of access that include 11 hospitals; urgent care centers; a senior living community and over 100 primary and specialty care clinics in Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. The system additionally offers a college with studies in nursing and allied health; a graduate residency program; and access to virtual care anytime, anywhere. Baptist Health, as the largest not-for-profit health care organization based in Arkansas, provides care to patients wherever they are through the support of approximately 11,000 employees, groundbreaking treatments, renowned physicians and community outreach programs. For more information about Baptist Health, visit baptist-health.com, call Baptist Health HealthLine at 1-888-BAPTIST or download the myBaptistHealth app. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.