Henry Ford Health System will recruit up to 5,000 participants for a phase-three COVID-19 vaccine trial.
The vaccine was developed by the company Moderna and the National Institutes of Health. They want to enroll 30,000 participants across the U.S. in two months.
Dr. Marcus Zervos is leading the study for Henry Ford. He says it should involve folks at higher risk of contracting the virus, like people over 65, people with pre-existing medical conditions, and many types of healthcare workers — including those in nursing homes.
“Because if we’re able to prevent infections in the healthcare workers in nursing homes, that’ll be important in preventing infections in the residents of the nursing homes,” he said during a Zoom call with reporters.
Dr. Katherine Reyes, another Henry Ford researcher, says if the study involves diverse participants, the vaccine might be able to protect more people, should it be approved and put into production.
“We want to ensure that the trial is available to many kinds of population,” she said on the Zoom call.
Half of participants will receive the vaccine, and half will receive a saltwater placebo. All will be compensated $1,000 for their time.
Those interested in signing up can visit Henry Ford’s website to do so.
Moderna and NIH say they hope to have results from the trial by November.
