More than 7,000 Oxfordshire COVID-19 study participants thanked

On the occasion of International Clinical Trials Day, health service leaders have thanked more than 7,000 participants who took part in nationally-prioritised COVID-19 studies in Oxfordshire.

A total of 7,647 took part in 31 studies supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in the county's hospitals, care homes and community settings such as GP practices in 2020/21. These studies have been part of a national and international effort to prevent, diagnose and treat the infection.

International Clinical Trials Day celebrates the contribution of clinical trials to healthcare. It comes as the NIHR's annual national Participant in Research Experience Survey (PRES) of 1,231 NHS research participants in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes and Oxfordshire found 95 percent who took part in research would volunteer for another study.

The COVID-19 studies include:

• 1,500 volunteers to a study into a University of Oxford vaccine for COVID-19, which was found to be up to 90 percent effective following a global trial of 23,745 people. The vaccine was approved for use in the NHS in December.
• A further 462 out of 15,203 UK volunteers for a study by vaccine development company Novavax at Oxford's Warneford Hospital. Interim results show the vaccine is 89 percent effective at preventing the virus, including new variants.
• 410 hospitalised patients enrolled in a trial into whether existing or new treatments can help improve survival. The RECOVERY trial has reported that the steroid dexamethasone and arthritis drug tocilizumab can reduce deaths, while convalescent plasma and drugs lopinavir-ritonavir, hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and colchicine are not effective.
• Collecting daily blood samples from 1,017 hospitalised COVID-19 patients to analyse the impact of the virus on the body for the Clinical Characterisation Protocol for Severe Emerging Infection study. The study helped researchers develop new software to predict the likelihood of deterioration in hospitalised adults.

Among participants was Banbury's Janice Rowan, 59, who took budesonide through an inhaler as part of the PRINCIPLE trial after testing positive for COVID-19 in December. The trial found that the commonly prescribed steroid shortens recovery time in patients at risk of more severe illness.

Mrs Rowan, a housing manager for Sanctuary Housing, was among 162 Oxfordshire people who took part in the trial into whether a short course of existing drugs can reduce the severity of COVID-19 symptoms in vulnerable groups and help avoid hospital admission.

She said: "My doctor asked me if I wanted to take part and I just said 'yes' without really thinking about it. Then I got the inhaler through the post a couple of days later. I started to feel much better in myself three or four days later."

"I would absolutely recommend taking part in research. I read about the drug being approved and I was really pleased. It was nice to get the outcome.

"There were so many people doing their bit on the frontline, facing horrendous situations in the ward. For me it would have seemed ridiculous to say no to taking part in the trial when it was such an easy thing to do."

Prof Meghana Pandit, Chief Medical Officer at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Clinical trials have never been more important as we tackle the unprecedented threat of a novel coronavirus pandemic.

"Oxford has been at the forefront of national and international efforts to tackle COVID-19, whether through the rapid development of a vaccine, the search for effective treatments or the many other trials that have enhanced our understanding of the virus.

"None of the breakthroughs we have achieved over the past year would have been possible without the thousands of patients and members of the public who have agreed to take part in these clinical trials and the dedicated staff who have helped to carry them out. We are exceptionally grateful to all of them."

Prof Belinda Lennox, Clinical Director for the NIHR Clinical Research Network Thames Valley and South Midlands, said: "This year has demonstrated, more than ever before, the vital importance of clinical research - we have trialled treatments that have saved lives and developed new vaccines that prevent disease.

"This is only possible because of research and because of the volunteers who have given their time and altruistically taken part, not knowing whether they would benefit or not.

"Thank you to each and every person who has taken part in clinical research this year. You have done something amazing."

The NIHR is supporting 97 nationally-prioritised COVID-19 studies in the UK that have so far involved more than one million participants. Visit: Urgent Public Health COVID-19 Studies.

More than 480,000 UK people have signed up to an NHS website to receive information on COVID-19 vaccine studies they could take part in, including 9,605 in Oxfordshire.

While the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccines are being rolled across the UK, it is important that clinical trials into other COVID-19 vaccines continue so vaccines work for everyone. Sign up at Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine research.

People can learn more about COVID-19 research in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes and Oxfordshire at an online event on Thursday 20 May.

The event will feature discussions with a researcher, patient and research nurse from 7pm to 8pm on Thursday 20 May. Register for online event 'COVID-19 research in Thames Valley'.

Participating in health research helps develop new treatments, improve the NHS and save lives. The NHS supports research by asking patients and healthy volunteers if they wish to take part in trials to enable participants to access new NHS treatment and care options.

Patients are encouraged to learn more about research and search for studies seeking volunteers at Be Part of Research.

Pictured: Janice Rowan