May 19, 2021

launch of the COV-BOOST Trial

The government has announced the launch of the Cov-Boost study, commissioned through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), to inform decisions by the JCVI on which vaccines could be used as a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine if revaccination is needed in the future.

The government-funded study is being led by the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, as part of the National Immunisation Schedule Evaluation Consortium (NISEC).

Journalists dialled in to hear from some of the scientists involved in the trial.

Speakers included:

Prof Saul Faust, Director of NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility and Professor of Paediatric Immunology and Infectious Diseases at University of Southampton, and Chief Investigator for the trial

Dr Katrina Cathie, Consultant in General Paediatrics and Paediatric Research at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust 

Dr Dinesh Saralaya, Consultant Respiratory Physician, Associate Medical Director and Associate Director for Research at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Bradford Institute for Health Research

Dr Matthew Snape, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Vaccinology at the University of Oxford