The Jacksonville Center for Clinical Research will start giving booster shots as part of the trial next week.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — President Joe Biden's goal is to have 70% of the population at least partially vaccinated by the Fourth of July. In Duval County, that number is about 45%, according to the CDC.
Research is happening on the First Coast to determine whether everyone may need another shot, a booster. The Jacksonville Center for Clinical Research started screening patients for the trial this week.
Next week, they'll start administering booster shots.
“The fact that Jacksonville was chosen to be a site for this work is a nice pat on the back for the medical community here," Dr. Michael Koren, who heads up the trial at the Center, said. "The fact that our organization was chosen to be part of it is is just humbling, and a wonderful part of my career," he said.
Koren said about 150 people will participate in this Pfizer booster placebo-based study. All 150 have to have participated in the original Pfizer two-dose study, Koren said.
“The messenger RNA vaccines look really, really good against the variants. And we're going to see whether or not that stands up or whether or not you need a third shot," Koren said.
“The research over the course of the next few months will be one, how long does the initial immunity last from the current vaccine doses," he said. "Number two, do the variants have an impact over time, and number three, does adding a third dose of vaccine extend that period of protection," Koren said.
Koren said they'll follow up with patients for one to two years. Like the Moderna and Pfizer two dose studies, though, they'll look at data after two months and see if they can make a decision if we need a booster shot.
"As soon as we see a clear, cut answer, that will be described publicly," Koren said. "Then the FDA will make a decision on how to make those third shots available to the general public."
Regarding if everyone will have to get a COVID shot every year like the flu shot, Koren said they're still working on an answer to that question.
June 22, 2021 at 05:29AM
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Local research center participating in COVID booster shot trial - FirstCoastNews.com WTLV-WJXX
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