OMAHA – Volunteers are being recruited for a COVID-190 vaccine trial. The trial is expected to enroll 30,000 people. The Omaha site will seek about 350 participants, said Dr. Brandon Essink, Meridian’s principal investigator and medical director. Essink also is one of three co-principal investigators leading the national trial.

While the coronavirus trial has gotten a lot of attention, Meridian has participated in a number of other important vaccine trials, including those involving anthrax, Zika virus and H1N1 influenza. The firm also participated in research on the first Ebola vaccine.

Patients who participate in trials are compensated for their time. But research ethics dictate that any compensation can’t be so much that it could be seen as coercive. By the time a vaccine reaches a phase III trial, such as this one, it has been shown to be relatively safe, Essink said.

But he stressed that all required safety precautions are being taken in developing the vaccine, despite the speed at which it’s moving through the regulatory review process.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said last week that the United States has never moved faster to develop a vaccine.

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