Danbury Hospital is participating in a Phase 3 clinical trial of an investigational Covid-19 vaccine.
Nuvance Health ”“ which also includes Norwalk, New Milford and Sharon hospitals ”“ is the only health system in Connecticut offering the clinical trial for the vaccine developed by Oxford University and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. The trial is led by principal investigator Dr. Paul Nee.
“We are excited to participate in this trial locally to help identify a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine,” said Joann Petrini, Nuvance vice president of Research and Innovation. “Offering research studies is just one way that Nuvance Health is working to combat the devastating impact of Covid-19.”
Participants are 18 years or older, in good or stable health and have no previously confirmed diagnosis of Covid-19.
Trial participants will be monitored for two years, and will visit the study center at Danbury Hospital up to six times for assessments during that time period. The trial is randomized with some volunteers receiving the experimental vaccine and others, a placebo. Neither the participants nor the medical staff involved will know whether a participant is getting the vaccine or the placebo.
This morning, U.K. regulators approved the use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, which is less expensive than the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines already being distributed. It also does not require freezer storage, as does the Pfizer version, which makes it easier to transport and distribute in developing countries.
The U.K. government said it will prioritize giving the first of two doses of the new vaccine to as many people as possible, before administering a second dose up to 12 weeks later ”“ the same approach it is using with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
Earlier this week, a vaccine candidate produced by Novavax Inc. reached final-stage testing in the U.S.
The Trump administration”™s Operation Warp Speed has said it plans to have shipped 20 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to states by the beginning of next month ”“ decidedly less than the 60-70 million it had originally anticipated.
As of Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 11.4 million doses had been shipped, with over 2.1 million people receiving vaccinations. Yesterday afternoon, President-elect Joe Biden repeated his goal of administering 100 million vaccinations during his first 100 days in office.
Last night, the Connecticut Department of Public Health said it has recorded 181,967 confirmed and probable Covid cases, with a current positivity rate of 5.64%. In addition, 1,226 people are currently hospitalized, and 5,924 people have died.
Fairfield County has recorded 55,253 cases and 1,700 deaths, with 290 people presently hospitalized.
As of this morning, there have been over 19.7 million Covid cases and nearly 342,000 deaths nationwide. Globally, over 82 million cases have been recorded, with nearly 1.8 million deaths.
