Volunteers wishing to participate in the clinical trials that the Chinese laboratory Sinopharm will carry out in Peru —in order to test the effectiveness of its
COVID-19 vaccine— can register online starting Wednesday, August 26.
The announcement was made by Dr. German Malaga —principal investigator of the vaccine study at Lima-based
Cayetano Heredia University— noting that all necessary precautions are being taken to ensure a high-quality vaccination campaign and provide safety measures for volunteers.
In statements to Andina news agency, the doctor emphasized that
San Marcos and
Cayetano Heredia Universities have assumed the leadership role of the Chinese research in Peru, hence the unified volunteer registration platform, since this is a joint work.
"The platform and structure will be the same for both universities. It will be available starting Wednesday. After logging into and registering in it, volunteers shall decide which branch to go to, Cayetano or San Marcos, the one that is geographically closest to them," he explained.
Strains from Wuhan and Beijing
It should be noted that the Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine research in Peru requires 6,000 volunteers, 3,000 of whom will be vaccinated by San Marcos and another 3,000 by Cayetano Heredia, in both cases in Lima.
According to Malaga, 2,000 volunteers will receive the strain from Wuhan (the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic first broke out), another 2,000 will receive the Beijing strain, and the remaining 2,000 will receive placebo.
A placebo can cause a positive effect in certain volunteers who believe they have received the drug but were actually given an inert substance. This is due to psychological reasons and is called the placebo effect.
"
Vaccine clinical trials are carried out by comparing the candidate vaccine with randomized placebos. The patients do not know which group they are in (placebo or vaccine)," he stated.
(END) RRC/RMB/MVB
Published: 8/25/2020