By Shakirah Thebus 4h ago
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Cape Town - South Africa began its second Covid-19 vaccine trial on Monday.
Wits University, which is leading the trials, announced it would start screening volunteers for phase 2 of NVX-CoV2373 vaccine.
The university's Shabir Madhi will lead the second clinical study in the country. Madhi also headed the first, the Ox1Cov-19 Vaccine Vida-Trial, with Oxford University and the Jenner Institute, which began on June 23.
NVX-CoV2373 is produced by Biotech company Novavax in the US.
The Novavax vaccine candidate is engineered from the genetic sequence of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
The Novavax vaccine trials will see as many as 2 900 volunteers, aged 18 to 64, participate.
The major motivation for Covid-19 vaccines being evaluated at an early stage in South Africa is to generate evidence in the African context on how well these vaccines work in settings such as our own, said Madhi.
This would enable informed decision-making when advocating for the adoption of this (NVX-CoV2373 vaccine candidate) or other Covid-19 vaccines in African countries, once they are shown to be safe and effective.
"Participating in the clinical development of these vaccines at the outset will assist in advocating for South Africans to be among the first in line to access these life-saving vaccines, once they become available.
Madhi said the first vaccine trials were progressing well with almost 75% of the targeted numbers enrolled.
The response for volunteers has been overwhelmingly positive, and to date the study is progressing well.
Stanley C Erck, president and chief executive of Novavax, said the phase 2 clinical trial would provide additional data on the safety and immunogenicity of NVX-CoV2373.
Supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Novavax was given R15 million towards its Covid-19 trials in South Africa.
The South African NVX-CoV2373 trial
The screening of volunteers for the South African Novavax Covid-19 vaccine trial begins on Monday, 17 August. To volunteer for this trial, please visit https://vidatrack.co.za.
The Phase 2 NVX-CoV2373 study in South Africa will enroll approximately 2 900 volunteers aged 18-64-years-old. The trial will evaluate the vaccine candidates safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy [protection against Covid-19].
The randomized, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trial in South Africa will include two cohorts:
Cape Argus
Read more from the original source:
Second Wits University Covid-19 vaccine trial has begun - Independent Online
