Here is how you can sign up for the COVID-19 vaccine trials in Pakistan

As you may have heard that multiple companies have already prepared their vaccines such as Pfizer, Gamelaya, among many others. There is still a need for more vaccine trails before the companies can shift the vaccines to the general public. For this purpose, they have been conducting phase 3 of the vaccine trials in which thousands of people take part.

Fortunately, Pakistan is part of the phase 3 trials being conducted by the Chinese company CanSinoBio in collaboration with the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology China. For this, more than 10,000 people from Pakistan have to volunteer in the first version of the phase 3 trials. Phase 1 and 2 trials have already been conducted which means that the vaccine is considered safe for further trials.

Unfortunately, according to sources Pakistan has only received around 2000-3000 volunteers in Karachi for this purpose. We should actively take part in these trails so that the approval process happens quickly and the vaccines can be given to those in need.

That is why today, we are making a guide so that you can know more about the COVID-19 trials being conducted in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi. The overall process is pretty simple which we will describe first.

COVID-19 Vaccine Trial:

The vaccine trials are pretty simple and usually take around 3 hours to conduct.

Who is eligible?

The following individuals are eligible for the trials:

• Adults 18 years of age and older
• Healthy adults that do not have a pre-existing medical condition that meets exclusion criteria
• Non-pregnant Females not planning to get pregnant in the next 90 days
• Males willing to practice contraception and refrain from donating sperm in the next 90 days
• Agree to refrain from blood donation
• No history of COVID-19 infection
• Not a participant of any other COVID-19 vaccine trial
• Not a participant of any other COVID-19 drug trial
• Without a history of allergic diseases or reactions

A full list of eligibility requirements may be viewed here.

Description of the Procedure:

• Contact the trial hosting hospital for an appointment. Phone numbers are mentioned at the end. Some hospitals may not require an appointment(9 am-4 pm Mon-Fri) (SKMH, Karachi).
• Reach the venue at the specified time and go to the information desk
• They will refer you to the reception for data entry and then to a nurse
• Next, you will have to deposit a blood sample with them so they can verify if you are eligible to receive the vaccine. A nurse will also take your temperature, bp, pulse, oxygen saturation, height, and weight.
• Females will be required to take a urine-sample pregnancy test
• The doctor will take your medical history and consent and approve you for the trial.
• After that, you will be given the vaccine and monitored for a minimum of 30 minutes to ensure there are no allergic reactions
• Half the people will be given a saline injection and half will be given the vaccine. The staff will not know which ones are which. The researchers in China will only know which patients got the vaccine with the code that will be sent back to them along with your file.
• After the results are made public if you received the saline injection instead of the vaccination, you will be given the vaccine on priority.
• The hospital will continue to keep in touch with you to get updates on your condition. This will be done multiple times during the first 48 hours and every week after that for a year.
• You will also be given some compensation for taking part in the trial.

For COVID-19 vaccine trial in Islamabad:

Hospital Name: Shifa International Hospital, H8/4, Islamabad
Contact Info: +92-51-8464729/30
Website: www.shifa.com.pk/trial
Timings: 9 am to 4 pm, Mon to Sat

For COVID-19 vaccine trial in Lahore:

Hospital Name: Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Center, Lahore
Contact Info: +92-42-111756111
Website: https://shaukatkhanum.org.pk/covid-19-vaccine-trial/
Timings: 9 am to 4 pm, Mon to Sat

For COVID-19 vaccine trial in Karachi:

Hospital Name: Agha Khan University Hospital, Karachi (being done on multiple campuses – contact for further details)
Contact Info: +92-21 34862330 / 34862332 / 34862335
Website: https://www.aku.edu/ctu/Pages/covid19-vaccine-trial.aspx
Timings: 9 am to 4 pm, Mon to Sat

Image Source: Dawn