The race for the coronavirus vaccine has a bump in the way: experts say blacks and Latinos are more likely to die of COVID-19.This is why researchers inspire minorities to participate in vaccine trials.
DELAND, Fla.- Accel Clinical Research at DeLand has been testing the coronavirus vaccine for the modern biotechnology company for just over a month, but they desperately want a more minority stake.
“I have two daughters, my husband works in Brazil, so it’s more common for me to be here with them,” said Helena Meyer, a co-trial participant in the COVID-19 vaccine trial.
Meyer can’t believe his health is bad because of coronavirus, as his mother-of-two is also preparing a master’s degree, so when she found out she could eventually discharge immunity by participating in a clinical trial, she enrolled.
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“Right now, I’m in danger like who’s out, ” he said, “and when I take this picture, I have a chance to be protected, so I have nothing to lose,” Meyer said.
But Accel Clinical Research, which manages the project, is suffering to recruit participants from minority communities.
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“It’s slower than expected,” said Dr. John Hill, a researcher at Accel Clinical Research.
This has only a portion of the number of minority participants you want for the trial, which means that many more are still needed.The clinic, which targets more than 1,200 volunteers from the minority population.
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“There’s a higher mortality rate among African Americans and Hispanics, that’s for sure, so it would be great if we could engage those other people so we can expand a vaccine, not just to know if they have any adverse events., even to know his reaction to the vaccine and indeed lower the mortality rate in that ethnicity, Dr. Hill said.
Dr. John Hill thinks can play a role in the low numbers.
“Many other people would possibly be afraid of inflame or other poor results,” Dr. Hill said.
But the doctor says the effects were minimal.
“What we’ve seen is very minor adverse events, as you would expect, just mild muscle soreness from where you get the vaccine, other than that, some mild fevers but really nothing that would concern us at all,” said Dr. Hill.
“It’s better to have a fever than to have COVID,” Meyer said.
FOX 35 News there when Meyer won his vaccine and officially joined the rehearsal.
“I’ve already invited friends to come and take the picture because we’re global and so are we,” Meyer said.
The lab expects to recruit the remaining volunteers within six weeks.The faster, the better for everyone, because the faster those tracks finish, the faster we can see an approved vaccine.
You can find more information about registration here.