Cambridge hosts world-first COVID-19 vaccine booster study

In this Government-funded trial, Cambridge were one of the sites to host the ‘booster’ COVID-19 vaccine trial at the NIHR Cambridge Clinical Research Facility.

With thousands of volunteers taking part in the UK, the study would provide researchers vital data on the impact of a third dose on patients’ immune responses.

The trial looked at seven different COVID-19 vaccines (including the Pfizer/BioNTech, and Valneva vaccines) as potential boosters, given at least 10 to 12 weeks after a second dose as part of the ongoing vaccination programme. One booster will be provided to each participant and could be a different brand to the one they were originally vaccinated with.

All the data was then analysed to help inform decisions by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on any potential booster programme for autumn of 2021.

Researchers in Cambridge saw more than 180 participants from the Cambridgeshire area. Professor Krishna Chatterjee, Director of the NIHR Clinical Research Facility in Cambridge, who led the trial in Cambridge said in June: “We are delighted to support this study here in Cambridge. We have conducted trials of several COVID-19 vaccine studies over the last year. It’s an exciting opportunity to now work on a study to determine the effects of a third ‘booster’ dose of vaccines and I want to thank both the trial participants and our staff who are helping with this important research.”

Read the full story from June 2021