University of Kansas Medical Center and Children's Mercy to offer clinical trial of AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19

The University of Kansas Medical Center and Children's Mercy Kansas City announced today that they will be leading the regional efforts of a nationwide clinical trial brought through the COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN). Anticipated to launch in mid-to-late August, the phase 2/3 trial is funded by the National Institutes of Health and sponsored by AstraZeneca.

This study is organized through the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, and there will be more than 100 sites nationwide. Mario Castro, M.D., MPH, Vice Chair for Clinical and Translational Research and pulmonologist at the University of Kansas School of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine and Director of Frontiers: University of Kansas Clinical and Translational Science Institute, made the announcement. Castro has partnered with Barbara Pahud, M.D., MPH, Research Director of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Children's Mercy and Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the KU School of Medicine, to offer this trial in the region.

Plans call for the recruitment of 30,000 participants nationally, with around 1,500 from the Kansas-Missouri region. Adults over the age of 18 who are considered high-risk for coming into contact with COVID-19 will be recruited into the study, and participants will be randomized to determine who receives the vaccine. Individuals who are staying home and drastically limiting contact with others likely will not be eligible. Two out of every three participants will receive the vaccine, with the third receiving a placebo.

Read the full story from KU Medical Center here