S’pore-Based COVID-19 Vaccine Looking for 100 Healthy Adult Volunteers for Next Trial Phase

Do you want to do your part for Singapore’s fight against Covid-19? Or maybe, you just want things to move along and for the pandemic to be over?

Well, no matter your reason, SingHealth is now giving you the opportunity to do so: by volunteering for the next trial phase of Singapore-Arcturus Covid-19 vaccine.

The Pre-Clinical Trial Results

According to Arcturus Therapeutics, they’ve obtained positive preliminary results from the early clinical trials which started back in Aug 2020 and ended in November.

There was no related serious adverse reactions and no volunteer withdrew from the trial.

About 106 people volunteered for the trial; 28 were given a placebo (fake vaccine) while the remaining volunteers were given either one or two doses of the experimental vaccine.

The interim study results revealed robust antibody responses and balanced T-cell response to the vaccine.

Don’t worry if you don’t understand what the previous line means; it basically means A+, and we’re good to move on.

S’pore-Based COVID-19 Vaccine Looking for 100 Healthy Adult Volunteers for Next Trial Phase

Which brings us to the meat of the article: volunteers.

On 29 Dec 2020, it was reported that SingHealth is now looking for 100 healthy adult volunteers for the next phase of the trial for the Singapore-Arcturus Covid-19 vaccine.

Here are the requirements:

• Above 21 years old
• Fit
• Free from any serious illness

For those who have chronic conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure, your condition must be stabilised and controlled before you can volunteer for the trial.

For the second phase, they are going to focus on the vaccine’s safety, as well as its ability to create immunity cells after application.

They are also planning to pick the “optimal dosage” for the 3rd stage of the trial (also the final stage), which is planned for 2021.

Completely Safe

If you’re wondering if there’s any danger to volunteering, SingHealth has taken all efforts to keep the study as safe as possible.

For one, the second stage’s vaccine dosage and trial specifications were informed by the immune response and safety considerations garnered from stage one of the study.

Various different organisations have also vetted through the details:

“These have been reviewed by the regulatory and ethics bodies in Singapore, and are deemed safe to progress to the next phase of testing.”

How To Apply

For those interested in taking part in the Lunar-Cov19 vaccine trial, you can contact SingHealth’s investigational medicine unit to apply:

• Call 6323 7544 / 8318 0685
• Email [email protected]

The screening of volunteers will start in late December.

There will also be follow-ups with volunteers for about a year, all the way from recruitment to the end of the study.

Featured Image: CEPTAP / Shutterstock.com