An NPR member station
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

MultiCare In Spokane Recruits Participants For Covid Vaccine Trial

Courtesy of Novavax

The Spokane area will soon be a part of a clinical trial for a new Covid vaccine.

Novavax has picked MultiCare to administer the third phase of the vaccine trialat the company’s Rockwood Clinic in Cheney. The trial’s principal investigator, Dr. Jonathan Staben, is recruiting about 300 adults to participate. He’s interested in people who are at high risk of being infected with the virus.

“Whether it’s through work or a social setting, for example, active military or first responder or someone who works in a plant where there’s a lot of people in close contact or an elder care facility, that kind of thing," he said.

Staben says people can have underlying medical conditions, but he’s looking for people whose health is stable. And he’s looking for a diverse group of participants, including people who are 65 or older and those from ethnic groups that have been more vulnerable to the coronavirus.

He says the Novavax vaccine involves two doses. The shots are given three weeks apart. Of the 300 people enrolled, 200 will receive the vaccine, the other 100 will receive a placebo. The participants will be followed for several months to monitor their health.

MultiCare will begin enrolling participants this weekend. Next Tuesday it will hold a one-hour webinarfor people interested in learning more about this clinical trial and vaccines in general.