UofU seeking volunteers for two new C-19 treatment & prevention studies

As COVID-19 cases in Utah surge, the University of Utah and Johns Hopkins University are seeking volunteers for two new COVID-19 treatment and prevention studies in the Salt Lake City area.

The researchers want to make sure older people who may have been exposed, essential workers, healthcare workers, home aides and parents and caregivers of children who might be diagnosed know this trial is underway and how to sign up. Full details are available at www.covidplasmatrial.com or by telephone at 888-506-1199.

The trial will help determine whether antibodies from people who have recovered from COVID-19 can help people who have either been recently exposed or who have been recently diagnosed and have symptoms to avoid getting very sick.

Those eligible for the test are people who were tested for COVID-19 no more than five days ago and were positively diagnosed, who still have symptoms but haven’t been hospitalized; or those who were in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 no more than three days ago, who don’t have any symptoms.

While other antibody trials are underway for people who have needed hospitalization, this set of two studies seeks to determine whether giving people antibodies earlier in the illness is effective at treating early-stage coronavirus and in preventing those exposed to it from catching the disease.

The trials are being conducted at the University of Utah and participants may be compensated.

This is the first U.S. multi-center, double-blind, randomized clinical trial to assess the effectiveness of convalescent blood plasma as an outpatient therapy. Antibodies are one of the best options being tested for treatment and prevention. If this option is deemed effective, it would be one of the lower-cost options for treating and/or preventing coronavirus illness worldwide, compared to vaccines, which might be too costly for some populations and countries.