BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Twin Cities-based HealthPartners will enroll 1,500 people to take part in a clinical trial to test the effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University.
Researchers from the HealthPartners Institute will oversee the trial enrollment in partnership with physicians from across the organization’s care system. HealthPartners is the only organization in Minnesota, and one of just 100 sites in the U.S., Peru and Chile to take part in the trial.
“HealthPartners is pleased to collaborate with AstraZeneca and Oxford University on this COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial,” said Andrea Walsh, HealthPartners president and CEO. “This research compliments our other efforts to advance COVID-19 testing, treatment and care and is an important part of our mission to improve health and well-being.”
To take part in the trial applicants need to be 18 or older. Researchers are particularly interested in enrolling those who have an increased risk of contracting COVID-19, such as health care workers, first-responders, and food service workers. They will also enroll people who work in other close contact professions, like grocery and meat-packing industries.
Those with stable health conditions that make them more likely to develop severe forms of COVID-19 (diabetes, high blood pressure, and other heart-related conditions) will receive priority from researchers, as will people of color. Emerging data shows that Black and Latino communities are experiencing higher rates of COVID-19 infections and poorer outcomes, and in Minnesota Hmong, Somali and Native American communities have been significantly affected.
Roughly two-thirds of enrolled study subjects will receive the vaccine, and one third will receive a placebo. Participants won’t know whether they received the experimental vaccine until after the trial is done.
People who are chosen and enrolled in the study will be asked to visit a HealthPartners clinic where they’ll receive the first dose of either the vaccine or placebo. One month later, the patient will receive a second dose.
“In order to test whether this vaccine is effective, we need to make sure we’re connecting with people who have the greatest likelihood of becoming ill,” said Charlene McEvoy, MD, HealthPartners pulmonologist and lead researcher for the local site. “Then, over time, we’ll look at the data to see whether the vaccine was successful in preventing illness. Our hope is that we find those who received the vaccine have significantly lower rates of infection.”
People who are interested in participating in the trial will be directed to a specific trial website where they will be screened for eligibility. If a person is eligible, they can schedule their appointment on the same website.