A: You sure can!
In the United States, the COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN) Volunteer Screening Registry is open and accepting volunteers for Phase 3 clinical trials (link below).
You’ll answer about 25 questions (it took this Nerdy Girl fewer than 10 minutes to complete the screening survey) and then your information will be available to the dozens of research sites around the country that are running Phase 3 trials. There are similar registries in other countries where trials are being run.
Depending on your demographics, your health history, and your current exposure to COVID-19 (for example, are you working from home or at your worksite), you might get contacted by a research site and be evaluated for eligibility for their trial.
Then what? The next step is usually a long (2-3 hour) in-person visit at the research facility. You’ll get asked lots more questions, fill out a lot of forms, have a physical exam, and go through a rigorous informed consent process (read that fine print!!).
After all of that, either at this same visit or a next visit, you’ll receive a shot of….something! Most Phase 3 trials are double-blinded, placebo-controlled randomized trials. The “double blinded” part means that you won’t know *and* the person evaluating your response to the vaccine won’t know whether you received the vaccine or an inert “placebo” (usually saline) in your shot.
Participation in the trial isn’t over once you get that first shot, though. You will likely have several more in-person visits where blood, saliva or other samples might be taken. You’ll probably also be asked to track symptoms and any reactions to the vaccine daily, either via an app or on a short call with a study nurse. Some trials will include a second shot a few weeks after the first. From start to finish, your time in the trial could extend up to two years — that’s how long-term safety and efficacy are assessed.
Have you volunteered or participated in a Phase 3 trial? **Subject to any restrictions about social media posts that your specific trial may include**, please tell us about your experiences below!
**ETA 8/30/20 to note that some consent forms specifically restrict trial participants from posting about the experience in the trial on social media. Another reason to read the fine print!**
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More on vaccine trial participation:
