Covid study calls on pregnant women in the South to help research
A Covid-19 vaccine programme is looking for pregnant women to help aid vaccine research.
Launched in August 2021, the study is supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
The University Hospital Southampton are running the Preg-CoV study, with over 300 pregnant women taking part nationally.
The study is looking for women, aged 18 to 45, who are low risk, carrying one baby and who are between 13 and 36 weeks pregnant.
Researchers hope to discover the best dosage and schedules of vaccines to protect women and babies from the virus.
The researchers compare the current vaccines that are being used across the country, including Pfizer and BioNtech, as well as looking at newly developed vaccines to see their effectiveness.
Dr Chrissie Jones, Southampton study lead and honorary consultant in paediatric infectious diseases and immunology at UHS, said: ‘The Covid-19 vaccination in pregnancy has been proven to be safe in hundreds of thousands of women and protects them against severe infection.
‘Now we need to understand the very best ways to protect women and their infants with booster doses and so are seeking more pregnant women from across the south to take part.’
The study is also assessing the different immune responses to different doses and intervals, and women will be given an electronic diary to record all of their symptoms.
Dr Jones said: ‘This study will give us important information about the spacing of vaccines in pregnancy and whether a half dose of the booster is as good as the full dose of booster.’
The women who take part in the trial will be given a 24 hour telephone number to make any queries about the study and they will be monitored, along with their baby, for a year after.
Professor Paul Heath, chief investigator and professor of paediatric infectious diseases at St George’s, University of London, said: ‘We are delighted that around 300 pregnant women have joined the study so far, but we need even more pregnant women across the country to participate.
‘Not only will they receive special monitoring and support around their vaccines, but they will help shape future guidelines and protect pregnant women in the future.’
To apply to get involved with the trial see vaccine.ac.uk/research/preg-cov-trial/