KUCHING (Feb 20): Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How has encouraged more healthy Kuchingites to be volunteers for the Covid-19 vaccine clinical trial.
See, who himself is a volunteer for the clinical trial for the evaluation of efficacy and safety of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, said he learnt from the doctors this morning that the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) Clinical Research Centre (CRC) was hopeful that they could recruit 89 more volunteers, including 30 more of those who are healthy and 60 years old and above, by the end of next Monday, Feb 22.
“To have more healthy volunteers aged 60 and above is crucial because it is necessary to ensure that the investigational vaccine is efficacious and safe for our senior and Sarawakian elders,” he said in a press statement today.
For those Kuchingites who are responding to this last call to be volunteers for this significant clinical trial, See said they just have to present themselves at the CRC during office hours on Monday for health screening and complete the recruitment process.
The CRC is located in the block next to the Emergency Department of the SGH.
The volunteers registering for their clinical trial vaccination.
“The doctors have also revealed a significant good news today. Initially, recruited volunteers have given a consent and undertaking to the CRC to observe the protocol not to accept vaccination within the clinical trial period of 12 months.
“It has now been decided that the sponsor of this clinical trial, the Institute of Medical Biology Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, will after six months from the commencement of this clinical trial, give vaccine to those volunteers who are inoculated with placebo-controlled vaccine in this trial exercise.
“With this latest development, all volunteers taking part in this meaningful clinical trial for the evaluation of efficacy and safety of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine will all be vaccinated by August or September this year,” See said.
On his personal experience as a volunteer for the clinical trial, See said he was inoculated with the second dose of the vaccine this morning at the CRC of the SGH.
“No pain, no adverse reaction. Again, a pleasant visit, thanks to the good doctors and nurses at the CRC.”
He received the first dose of the investigational vaccine (or placebo-controlled vaccine) at the CRC of the SGH on Feb 5.
There are as many lady volunteers as there are male for the clinical trial.
A total of 34,020 persons have been enrolled from participating countries, from South America, South East Asia and Central Europe, for this Phase 3 Clinical Trial of the investigational vaccine that is produced and provided by the Institute of Medical Biology Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Amongst them, there are 3,000 persons recruited from Malaysia of which 400 are from Sarawak.
“At the CRC, I was delighted to meet the more than 30 volunteers who had turned up for their first dose of the vaccine and many others for their second dose this morning. I was most heartened that there were almost as many lady volunteers as there are male, taking part in this clinical trial,” See said.
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