Hundreds of Banbury area people have signed up as possible Covid-19 vaccine volunteers.

Hundreds of people from the Banbury area have registered with a Covid-19 vaccine study as possible trial volunteers.
Hundreds of people from Cherwell district have signed up with an interest in helping with a Covid-19 vaccine trialHundreds of people from Cherwell district have signed up with an interest in helping with a Covid-19 vaccine trial
Hundreds of people from Cherwell district have signed up with an interest in helping with a Covid-19 vaccine trial

More than 3,900 Oxfordshire residents have signed up to a new NHS website to receive information on COVID-19 vaccine studies they could take part in. And 745 of them are from the Cherwell district.

The NHS COVID-19 vaccine research registry website will help recruit thousands of people to trials, potentially leading to effective vaccines being identified and made available to the UK public earlier.

More than 200,000 UK volunteers have signed up, including 3,945 in Oxfordshire. This includes 745 in Cherwell, 950 in Oxford, 785 in South Oxfordshire, 895 in Vale of White Horse and 570 in West Oxfordshire.

Scientists are working hard to find a vaccine for Covid-19Scientists are working hard to find a vaccine for Covid-19
Scientists are working hard to find a vaccine for Covid-19

Anyone aged 18 or over can register by providing personal and contact details and answering basic health screening questions such as whether they have a long-term health condition, for example asthma. Having a condition does not exclude them from being considered for trials.

Research shows some groups are more likely to catch the virus or suffer severe illness as a result, so those who are most likely to benefit from vaccines are particularly invited to sign up. These include over-65s, frontline workers and those from black, Asian and ethnic minority communities.

Researchers will send an email or text with more information about the study to anyone who matches the criteria for their trial. There is no obligation to take part in any study and people can remove their contact details and withdraw from a study at any time.

You can sign up online at www.nhs.uk/researchcontact

The registry has been developed as part of the UK Government’s Vaccine Taskforce, in partnership with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), NHS Digital and the Northern Ireland, Scottish and Welsh Governments.

It complements other studies into COVID-19 including treatments and new tests that have recruited more than 2,800 participants in Oxfordshire.

Chief Executive of the NIHR’s Clinical Research Network Dr William van’t Hoff said: “I’m really grateful to the volunteers who have signed up to the NHS vaccine registry. I also want to praise the staff from the research community, NIHR and NHS, who have worked so well in partnership to achieve rapid recruitment into trials to tackle COVID-19.

"I would encourage everyone who hasn’t already signed up to look at the website and consider whether they would like to join the register, before the large-scale vaccine trials start in the coming weeks.”