New Zealand Selected To Run Trial For Alternative COVID-19 Vaccine Booster

New Zealand’s leading clinical research company, Pacific Clinical Research Network is currently conducting a Covid-19 study that uses a non mRNA vaccine as a booster dose.

Trial sites are in Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, Tauranga, Nelson, and Christchurch and PCRN is looking for volunteers aged 18 and over who have had 2 Pfizer vaccinations at least 4 months previously.

PCRN Medical Director Dr Mike Williams said “Providing an alternative in the type of vaccine booster will be critical as the country seeks to increase the number of people who get boosted or fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

“Some people are unable or unwilling to receive the current mRNA Covid-19 vaccine so by offering an alternative we can give these people the option of getting their booster dose and potentially increasing their immune response to Covid-19.

“Multiple international studies have shown that people who receive two different types of COVID-19 vaccines generate potent immune responses, and the side effects are no worse than those caused by standard vaccine regimens. The US CDC and US Food and Drug Administration have authorized the use of heterologous booster doses, or a "mix and match" approach to COVID-19 boosters.”

“The vaccine being offered in this trial is an adjuvanted recombinant protein vaccine which has not been previously used in New Zealand but has been widely trialled around the world,” said Dr Williams.

Fran Priddy Executive Director of Vaccine Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand and the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research said “It's important to study an adjuvanted protein vaccine as a booster. These types of vaccines can generate strong and long-lasting responses, which could help reduce the need for continual boosters.”

Dr Williams adds “This is the fourth Covid-19 vaccine trial PCRN has conducted. Clinical trials are an extremely important step in the clinical development of new treatments, in this case vaccinations, which aim to keep us all healthier, and potentially save lives. New Zealand has increasingly been seen as a go to destination for global vaccine trials due to the speed of recruitment and reliability of the data obtained.”

The trial is expected to run for a number of months and all participants will be fully monitored post vaccination. Interested participants can register at www.pcrn.co.nz.

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