Health experts in Nottingham are playing a key role in the battle for a Covid-19 vaccine.
Nottingham and the East Midlands were part of the second and third phases of the Covid-19 Oxford vaccine trial, which involved just over 10,200 volunteers nationally. Of this, Nottingham has recruited around 480 volunteers.
The NIHR Nottingham Clinical Research Facility (CRF) is a multi-million research facility spread across QMC, Nottingham City Hospital and Ropewalk House and is one of 24 specialist centres funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
This facility in Nottingham, along with the clinical and scientific expertise essential to the specialist nature of developing vaccines, has meant that NUH and local healthcare staff are able to take part in the first national trial of a vaccine for Covid-19.
The laboratory facilities based at QMC have been processing blood samples taken from volunteers, to support the research team at the Cripps Health Centre.
Giving an update in the trust's latest board reports, chief executive at NUH, Tracy Taylor, said: "Our Research and Innovation team along with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Nottingham Clinical Research Facility have formed a partnership with the Cripps Health Centre to deliver the Oxford Covid-29 trial.
"Our team delivers all the sample processing aspects of the study. Preliminary results were published in the Lancet on July 20 demonstrating the vaccine to be safe and effective in stimulating an immune response.
"The paper was based on data of 1,000 volunteers, 480 of which were recruited and inoculated in Nottingham."
Professor Stephen Ryder, Clinical Director of Research and Innovation at Nottingham University Hospitals, and Director of the Nottingham Clinical Research Facility - a specialist research facility that enables studies into experimental medicines including those involving vaccines - said: “Our role at the Nottingham CRF is to speed up the translation of scientific advances directly for the benefit of patients – and research into a safe new vaccine against Covid-19 is clearly of the highest priority right now.
“We’re delighted that staff from Nottingham University Hospitals have been among the frontline healthcare workers who volunteered to take part in this trial, which in Nottingham is being co-ordinated by Cripps Health Centre at the University of Nottingham.
"The backing of staff for this vital research is certainly appreciated.”
He added: “Our facilities, equipment, and the skills of our expert staff at the CRF mean we are ideally placed to support the first national trial of a Covid-19 vaccine.”
