Doncaster volunteers needed for study into giving the COVID-19 and flu vaccines  at the same time

This study by Grounded Research is important in helping to understand the most effective way of maintaining the good progress made so far in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is sponsoring the study which is supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). It will determine whether booster COVID-19 vaccines should be given at the same time as flu vaccines.

While there are vaccines that have been approved to protect against COVID-19 in the UK, it is not yet known whether further booster doses may be required to give continued protection, and how giving boosters might fit in with the seasonal flu jab programme.

From Monday, Grounded Research will work with the study team, the Bristol Trials Centre at the University of Bristol, to look at the side effects and immune response when volunteers receive their COVID-19 booster and flu vaccine at the same time. The study will involve people aged 18-years-old and under 65 who have received their first Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination and are awaiting their second dose.

Dr Adrian Phillipson, who will be leading the trial, said: “As a society we need to immunise large numbers of people against COVID-19, and we also need to continue the seasonal flu vaccination schedule.

“This vital research will help us know if it’s possible to protect people from both viruses at the same appointment, which would mean fewer appointments for those who need both vaccines and would reduce the burden on those who have underlying health conditions who would usually be offered the influenza vaccine.”

The trial will be run from Grounded Research’s new dedicated centre for vaccine research, the result of a partnership with NHS partners from primary and secondary care, local government and higher education, based in the RDaSH Tickhill Road Site in Balby.

For more information about the study and how to sign up please follow this link https://comflucov.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/participate-rotherham-doncaster-and-south-humber-nhs-foundation-trust/

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