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COVID: The unmet needs being addressed by clinical trials

10 May 2023

Thanks to clinical trials, significant advances have been made in our knowledge of how to prevent and treat COVID-19. Nevertheless, the disease remains a threat. That’s why a great deal of effort continues to be poured into vaccine and treatment research. Here’s a brief overview of that effort.

Better vaccines

There are numerous ways in which today’s vaccines could be improved. These include developing vaccines that may do a better job of preventing or reducing:

  • Infection
  • Transmission
  • Severe disease and death

How should researchers approach the search for better vaccines? That’s the focus of a new global strategy published by the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. It’s called the Coronavirus Vaccines Roadmap (CVR).

This vaccine research and development roadmap has been written by 50 scientific experts from around the world. Their efforts were supported with funding from The Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, among others. In summary, the CVR sets out a worldwide strategy to develop vaccines that would protect against:

  • Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants
  • The threat of new coronaviruses that may cause pandemics in the future

To achieve these goals, the CVR proposes speeding up the development of long-lasting, broadly protective coronavirus vaccines. This could involve a tiered approach, starting with vaccines that protect against the most urgent threats: SARS-CoV-2 variants. Researchers could then focus on vaccines capable of providing wider protection. For example, the next tiers may include vaccines with the potential to protect against multiple types of coronaviruses.

The CVR also emphasizes that future broadly protective vaccines must be suitable for all parts of the world. That includes low- and middle-income countries and remote areas.
Commenting on the importance of the CVR, Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH, CIDRAP director, University of Minnesota Regents Professor, and McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Public Health says:

“The COVID-19 pandemic marks the third time in just 20 years that a coronavirus has emerged to cause a public health crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic taught us the hard lesson that we must be better prepared. Rather than waiting for a fourth coronavirus to emerge — or for the arrival of an especially dangerous SARS-CoV-2 variant — we must act now to develop better, longer lasting, and more broadly protective vaccines. If we wait for the next event to happen before we act, we will be too late.”

Better treatments

Aside from searching for better vaccines, researchers are also looking to improve treatment options for people who contract COVID. In particular, better treatments are needed for people with:

People with compromised immunity are at higher risk of developing a severe or critical case of COVID that may require hospitalization or lead to death. That’s one reason there is an emphasis on developing treatments that reduce the severity of disease. Besides potentially delivering better outcomes for patients, such treatments may reduce hospitalization rates. That could, in turn, ease pressure on hospitals and health clinics.

There is also a need to improve treatment options for people with long COVID. However, there are many unknowns surrounding this condition. That’s why major clinical research programs are underway to learn more about:

  • What causes long COVID
  • Who is at most risk
  • How long COVID can be prevented
  • How long COVID should be treated

Clinical trial volunteers needed

As you can see, more research is needed to provide better protection against COVID and better treatments for people who get it. Clinical trials are a vital part of this effort, but researchers often struggle to find enough volunteers to participate. That’s where you come into the picture.

Researchers are looking for people like you to participate in COVID-related clinical trials. Would you consider volunteering? As a clinical trial volunteer, you would play an important role in:

  • Building knowledge about COVID-19
  • Helping researchers find better ways to prevent people from getting COVID-19
  • Assisting in the search for better ways to treat COVID-19

Find ways to participate by talking to your healthcare provider or search for a clinical trial at ClinicalTrials.gov.