Off Topic - Covid vaccine trials

[Brushwork]

Would you volunteer to be part of one of the vaccine trials?

I have signed up for further information, but not yet taken the leap!

[sylvi]

I have already had my flu jab so i don't think i will bother. Good luck if you go for it. xxx

[Mmrr]

Not with the state of my health at the moment. My RA isn't well controlled, to many things going on to add in an untried vaccine too.

[Hidden]

If I didn’t have a young family then yes

[Brushwork]

It’s interesting because IF you are accepted, the care and monitoring you receive is first class.

We shall see

[nomoreheels]

My h has been asked but as with other trials he's been invited to participate in with his history we've decided he'd best check with his GP first before considering taking part. I really don’t know whether I’d volunteer or not, it's a difficult one. I have done my little bit, sent a swab to be tested.

nb Just been texted my results, negative. I wouldn’t have thought it any different as the only time I've been out in weeks was for X-rays.

[allanah]

Yes signed up but they are not using volunteers in the double blind trials on elderly or vulnerable yet. In case they have to give you the placebo which puts you in danger do ethically they wont do that.

But soon they will need us!

[Boxerlady in reply to allanah]

I wonder if I'd be classed as "elderly and vulnerable" as I'm 60 with RA? 🤔

[allanah in reply to Boxerlady]

Well I'm 60 and vulnerable on RA drugs lol !!

[Thingybob in reply to allanah]

Me too . We should start a group.! 😆

[allanah in reply to Thingybob]

Consider yourself the founding member!

[Green230461 in reply to allanah]

Can I join in April please?

[Lolabridge]

I'm not keen at the moment. I may reconsider after my elder daughter gets married in mid-December.

[allanah in reply to Lolabridge]

You excited now!?

[Lolabridge in reply to allanah]

Oh yes! Tried on my outfits this morning just to make sure I can get into them! Need to lose a few more pounds if I can. Home made chicken and veg soup then a salad for lunch today. X

[allanah in reply to Lolabridge]

All that worrying for nothing lovely lady !!

[AgedCrone]

No way! After 20+ years my RA is reasonably controlled I won’t do anything to upset that.

I won’t be at the front of the queue to get a vaccine when it is approved.....so I don’t think I am being unreasonable.

I applaud those who feel their health could cope with any adverse reactions I’m not sure mine could.

[Mmrr in reply to AgedCrone]

Me too, I'll wait and see what develops with vaccine safety when widespread immunisation programmes go live and will consider the guidance offered to us.

I usually support vaccination programmes and am as far from a vaccine denier as you can get, but this all seems a bit rushed; it's the first RNA vaccine and it needs to be stored at -80c, so not a 'routine' type vaccine.

Although rare, I know two people who developed Guillain Barre. One, my best friend after receiving multiple vaccines in quick succession for travel purposes in the 1980s, she was very ill and hospitalised for months. My partner's sister in law also developed it after being ill with a viral type infection.

I need time to consider before agreeing to it.

[AgedCrone in reply to Mmrr]

Funnily enough I had travel vaccines every year for 25 years and the only time I ever had any problem was when I had a couple of beers after a cholera jab ... knowing full well alcohol was banned after it .....that was very unpleasant but completely my own fault!

But right now - launching in to a stressful house move.... I’m not going to take the chance of feeling bad or even getting a nasty reaction...I have nobody to pick up the slack so I am afraid that I shall politely decline until I’m well settled in my new home & can see how things are going.

I am just watching the Baroness on sky News getting really really heated because she is being very closely questioned about her management to date, and she is being so defensive it’s embarrassing.....even on the television screen you can see she is getting very, very hot under the collar.... as she should.

She is being questioned by people who have obviously got a good grip on their brief and it is all getting a bit beyond her... she is actually getting to the stage where she is saying “I suggest you ask X that question”! Aaagh!

I feel like shouting they are asking you woman......you’re supposed to be in charge!

[Durrell]

Well done you I think your very brave, alas I’m a bit like many others my immune system is up the creek at the mo, an on going ear infection, so wouldn’t be a sensible move for me as I think we have finally got it under control so I like others wouldn’t risk it. But I take my hat off to you 🎩

[Boxerlady]

I think that it will depend how well my RA is controlled at the time; I'd love to be able to contribute but I'm not sure if I'll be brave enough!

[Hidden]

No I would not. This vaccine has been rushed through and will not have been trialed for nearly long enough. Plus I have a nasty habit of reacting badly to drugs. I don't have flu vaccines either. I'm not against them at all, just decided not for me.

[KittyJ]

No

[MadBunny]

I wish I could do my bit to help but I just daren't.

[medway-lady]

I don't know to be honest. Maybe ?

[Oshgosh]

I have mixed thoughts about this.

My main concern would be side effects and possible interactions with My existing medications.

So far now,I think it’s wait and see.

[HappykindaGal]

Me! I would. My RA has been under control for a couple of years now so wouldn’t mind being part of a trial.

[BoneyC]

No, not with a wonky immune and having had serious infections in the past.

[Artroc56]

I understand that the current vaccines are live ones so if you are taking any immunosuppressive drugs it is really not recommended

[Bully915]

Yes I would if it helps others in our condition then that can only be a bonus for RA sufferers

[Hidden]

I volunteered and filled in a form about my health etc, but they didn't want me at that point. However, I'm still on their radar and get emails about where studies are being done etc, so maybe one day ... . They are not going to try out vaccines on elderly people with compromised immune systems until they have been thoroughly tested on less vulnerable groups, but at some point some of us will need to volunteer because we won't be able to benefit from a vaccine unless it has been shown to be safe and effective for people like us.

To answer the point about the vaccine being "rushed through", facilitation has been speeded up, but not the process of testing, which continues to be rigorous. Both the necessary approvals to carry out trials and the necessary funding for them have been rushed through because this is an emergency. It is also true that the production side of things has been speeded up, for instance by having factories set up ready to start production as soon as any approval is granted. Also, governments have placed advance orders for several vaccines that are not yet (and may never be) approved, so as to be ready to get them to people as soon as possible. In most countries, including the UK, all the usual stages of testing are being carried out carefully. We saw, for instance, how the Oxford trial was paused when just one person became ill. Russia, on the other hand, has rushed out a vaccine without completing phase three trials in the normal way. I will not be volunteering for the Russian vaccine!

There is some speeding up of testing in the shape of small-scale challenge trials (where people are deliberately infected with the virus to see how well the vaccine works). None of us would be considered for that even if we wanted to be; you have to be very young and very healthy.

Volunteering or not depends on each person's circumstances. With a friend and a family member working for the MRC, I trust the scientists. They have found reasonably safe drugs for our RA and they will find reasonably safe vaccines against covid-19.

[Hidden]

I am on the fence about this one. I guess it depends on which side the fence I fall down to.

[Shelley1701]

I'd consider it. A doctor on tv who is taking part in the Oxford trial said they are short of people with underlying health conditions and ethnic minorities. And it's not a live vaccine. So Id maybe go for that one. We need them tested on as many varieties of people as possible. My husband is not keen on me doing it though.

[benjijen]

I have been involved with clinical trials but will certainly not be involved in covid vaccine! I also won't be first in the queue once it is mainstream. I'll wait to see the effects.

[Hidden in reply to benjijen]

Me too. I've been a guinea pig for lots of things in my life time. I've done my stint! I'm afraid to say I am not so trusting of the scientists any more. Maybe they should test the vaccines on themselves if they can.

[greynot]

I have volunteered. But I live a long way from the unis/hospitals that are testing, and last info I had was they were testing on people who lived reasonably near these.

But at 70 with RA, I'm happy to be a Guineapig if asked.

Meanwhile, I've not been in a shop since March, and my car (filled up in March) is nearly down to 1/3 of a tank!

[Sops]

I have a friend who is a volunteer on the Oxford trial, and another friend applied but he takes warfarin so was not accepted.I believe there is a large list of drugs that prohibit you from being accepted.

Good luck of you do apply, i think that is a good thing to do,

Sopsx

[mistymeana]

I have already registered for the national trials and recently volunteered for a specific trial at work but not been called up for either yet. I know nothing is completely without risk but I reckon they would only give me a vaccine if they didn't have any concerns about its safety.