UK to offer additional COVID vaccines to trial participants for travel

LONDON, Oct. 8 (Reuters) – Britain will offer additional COVID-19 vaccines to participants in coronavirus vaccine clinical trials that have not yet been approved to let them travel, the Ministry of Health said on Friday. Health.

People signed up for trials for shots fired by people like Novavax and Valneva are in limbo because the shots were not approved, excluding them from deals allowing people to travel.

Great Britain recognizes people vaccinated in vaccine trials as vaccinated for the purposes of national and international certification.

He says he wants those who received injections in the trials, especially Novavax, whose Phase III trial has shown high levels of protection, to be able to travel on the basis of the vaccine they have already received.

However, in the absence of willingness from international partners to reciprocate, the government said trial participants would be offered two injections of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine if they were to travel.

“The measures we have taken will allow UK participants in the COVID-19 vaccine trial to travel freely abroad once they receive the additional vaccinations,” Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam said .

“If more countries around the world had reciprocated by allowing British volunteers to enjoy fully immunized status for overseas travel, these measures would not have been necessary.”

While a third injection of different COVID-19 vaccines has been tested in different combinations, there is no data on a four-dose injection involving two doses of Novavax followed by two doses of Pfizer.

Those participating in the trials will discuss their options with those conducting the trials before making an informed decision about whether or not they want extra doses for travel.

Those participating in the trials will also be offered a booster dose, if eligible, which may be the first dose of the new schedule for those who wish to travel.

The supply of additional vaccine doses to trial participants will begin next week, starting with the 15,000 people enrolled in the Novavax trial. About 21,000 in total have received a vaccine that is not yet approved.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Kate Holton)