Why Participate

Have you ever wondered how your doctor knows a vaccine is safe and effective before recommending it? Or how sure they are of the results when they prescribe medications or any other treatment? There’s an answer — clinical trials.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration FDA, a clinical trial is the safest and fastest way to find new treatments. Before a vaccine (or any other doctor-prescribed treatment or medication) is approved for use by the general public, it undergoes various testing phases, including clinical trials, which involve people who participate voluntarily.

Why Millions Have Participated in Clinical Trials

1. Helping others & advancing medicine

Participation in clinical trials plays a crucial role in advancing medical science and public health. By choosing to participate in a vaccine study, you contribute directly to the development of new, life saving vaccines. This was clear in the COVID-19 vaccine studies, where participants' efforts helped to address a global health crisis and work towards restoring normalcy.

“ I have participated during Covid and felt so good about being part of a group that is helping find the right vaccines to help people get better with different types of illnesses. This is an important part of being in a community that cares about others well-being”
HealthMatch Patient, Florida, 61 years old

2. Compensation may be provided for eligible participants

Most clinical trials offer compensation for participation. This is in recognition of the time and effort involved in being part of the study. The actual amount varies by study and you can discuss this with the Principal Investigator or study team during the informed consent process at your screening visit, after you have been identified as a potential match for the study by HealthMatch.

3. Access to investigational vaccines

Participants may gain access to investigational vaccines as part of participating in the study. Participants also get to learn about the disease from leading research teams.

4. Access to leading clinical research specialists

If you choose to participate in a study, your participation, study procedures and safety will be overseen and managed by a medical doctor as your principal investigator who is supported by highly trained research teams at Velocity Clinical Research.

5. Learn about the study and potential medical innovations

Clinical trials can give you the chance to deepen your knowledge about potential medical advances. When you’re interested in a trial, your study visit will start with the informed consent process, which will tell you more about the study and allow you to ask questions of the research team. This allows you to make an informed decision about participating in the study.

What is a Vaccine Clinical Trial?

A vaccine clinical trial assesses the efficacy and safety of a vaccine in preventing an infectious disease, and typically takes years of laboratory research before being tested in humans. This process can be accelerated during global health events like pandemics, exemplified by the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines.

Each investigational vaccine undergoes a rigorous journey of laboratory research and testing. As the development of the investigational vaccine progresses, it moves through various phases, each designed to assess the vaccine's safety, identify any side effects, and measure its efficacy.

The selection of participants is a carefully managed process, taking into account factors such as age, gender, and medical history to enroll only those qualified to participate in order to ensure the safety of the volunteer participants and reliability of the results.

What About Safety?

The safety of participants in clinical trials is a top priority. Each study is overseen by an independent Institutional Review Board (IRB) whose primary concern is with protecting the rights, safety, and welfare of study participants. The Sponsor, the IRB, and the principal investigator are responsible for providing volunteer participants with comprehensive information about the study. This study information includes details about any potential risks and addresses any questions, enabling the potential participant to make an informed decision about participating in the study and signing an informed consent document.

At your first study visit, the knowledgeable team at your local Velocity Clinical Research site will be able to provide you with more information about the specific trial so that you can make an informed decision that is best for you and your family.

It's important to remember that participation in a clinical trial is entirely voluntary, and individuals can withdraw from the study at any time.

Sources:
1. CDC| How Vaccines are Developed and Approved for Use
2. US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health| Vaccine Development against COVID-19: Study from Pre-Clinical Phases to Clinical Trials and Global Use.
3. ScienceDirect| Why do people take part in vaccine trials? A mixed method narrative synthesis
US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health| The social experience of participation in a COVID-19 vaccine trial: Subjects' motivations, others' concerns, and insights for vaccine promotion

‍