Queensland Health is seeking volunteers to take part in the next stage of clinical trials of Queensland’s COVID-19 vaccine.
Minister for Health, Steven Miles said that following positive results from the first stage of testing, the University of Queensland (UQ) now had approval to extend phase one clinical trials to people aged 56 and over.
Mr Miles said developing a vaccine was vital to ending the pandemic.
“The Government has thrown its support behind the work the University of Queensland is doing to deliver a vaccine — we’re proud of the work it has done so far,” Mr Miles said.
“By taking part in these clinical trials, people can play a very real role in saving lives.”
Minister for Innovation, Kate Jones said the allocation of $10 million had helped to fast track the University of Queensland’s research and vaccine development.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel,” Ms Jones said.
“This announcement is a great step in the right direction.
“We’re urging Queenslanders to answer the call — make history by being part of the most important clinical trials that will be conducted in our generation.”
She said the team at UQ had been working night and day to deliver a vaccine for COVID-19 “and its work is paying off”.
Co-leader of the vaccine project at UQ, Paul Young said the next phase was aimed at ensuring the vaccine candidate was safe for use in older people.
“By conducting this expanded safety study, we’ll gather key data to support the large-scale efficacy trials that our partners at CSL are planning to run in the near future,” Professor Young said.
