Thousands of volunteers sought for Spain’s first vaccine trials

Spain’s Ministerio de Salud is looking for thousands of volunteers to take part in the country’s first late-stage vaccine trials.

Spain’s drug approval agency (AEMPS) has authorised a Phase 3 clinical trial of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.

This is the first late-stage trial to go ahead in Spain.

The ministry said two doses of the real vaccine and placebos will be administered to 30,000 volunteers recruited in nine countries: Spain, Belgium, Colombia, France, Germany, the Philippines, South Africa, UK and the US.

A total of 3,000 volunteers will be sought in Spain, according to statements yesterday from Spain’s minister of health, Salvador Illa.

Eight Spanish hospitals – in Madrid, Barcelona and Pamplona – will participate and start searching for volunteers ‘as soon as possible’.

The Janssen vaccine is based on a common cold virus, which has been modified with genetic information from the coronavirus in a bid to get the body to create specific defences without posing any health risk.

Only volunteers without pre-existing medical conditions associated with a risk of developing serious COVID-19 symptoms will be admitted in the initial stage of testing.