A TOP Bradford doctor has urged more volunteers from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds (BAME)to sign up to a major vaccine trial.

Professor Dinesh Saralaya said there had been a “disappointing” response and moved to address rumours people may have heard around the vaccine.

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is currently working with partner trusts and GPs in the delivery of the world’s first Phase 3 study to test the effectiveness of the Novavax Covid-19 vaccine.

"The trial got underway in October, and saw Bradford become one of only three regional and one of 20 national centres to deliver it. Prof Saralaya is director of the new Patient Recruitment Centre which is part of Bradford Institute for Health Research, based at Bradford Royal Infirmary, and is leading the trial.

He said: “The Novavax trial is going very well and we were pleased to become the first site in the UK to achieve our target of recruiting 500 volunteers.

“However we are now looking for more volunteers to take part in this particular trial and are appealing for another 150 to 200 people to sign up. We know that the only way that we can have the strongest possible immunity from being infected and becoming unwell with Covid-19, is through the development of effective vaccines.

“Bradford is part of the global race for a vaccine and we are calling on our local community to get involved. It is vitally important that people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds sign up as we know that people from these backgrounds are being impacted by the virus.”

He added: “The response from Bradford’s BAME community has been very disappointing. I would like to stress that this vaccine contains no porcine (pork gelatine) and that it is halal.

"There are rumours that the vaccine contains live coronavirus. This is absolutely not the case.”

Prof Saralaya said taking part in a vaccine trial is straightforward and not time consuming.

“People do not have to devote hours of their life to it but they would be playing an important role in helping us find an effective way of protecting our communities from this virus which has already claimed so many lives,” he said.

“Volunteers are given two doses of the vaccine; one on their first day and a second on day 21. They are then monitored for 12 months. We are looking for people aged 18 to 84 who are antibody negative; in other words they have not had Covid-19. They can register with us in the first instance and then we will check if they are suitable candidates.”

For further information, visit bepartof.bradfordresearch.nhs.uk