A research center in Pasadena this week began participating in a clinical trial for a potential vaccine against the coronavirus.
Kaiser Permanente’s Department of Research & Evaluation is one of a few sites in California and Oregon in which approximately 1,400 people will be enrolled to test BNT162b2, one of the vaccine candidates in development by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech, which are also the sponsors of the study.
Other sites participating in the phase three clinical trial are the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, and the Division of Research in Oakland.
“This virus is a tremendous health threat and has affected the world profoundly both economically and socially,” said Dr. William Towner, principal investigator for the trial at Kaiser’s Pasadena site. “It is imperative that we find a safe and effective vaccine as quickly as possible.”
Participants must be adult health plan members aged 18 to 85 who are not pregnant or planning to become pregnant during the trial.
The phase three trial is a randomized trial in which half of the participants will receive the vaccine and half will receive a placebo. Neither the participants nor the clinicians will know who is receiving the vaccine versus the placebo (known as a double-blind study). During this phase of the trial, data will be gathered about safety, immune response, and efficacy as required for regulatory review.
