The Wits University team working on a Covid-19 vaccine has called on the public to participate in the study.
Wits senior clinicians were injected on 14 July with a potential Covid-19 vaccine that they are currently testing to help scientists fast track the discovery of a reliable vaccine. In a statement released by the university, Wits’s Dr June Fabian, professors Martin Veller and Francois Venter, and convener of the Progressive Health Forum Dr Aslam Dasoo will form part of the many South Africans participating in the trials.
Veller, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Surgery, felt strongly that Africa needed to be involved in vaccine development so there was a moral obligation for the continent to be able to access the vaccine once it became available. Veller has encouraged members of the public and more importantly those in healthcare, to consider enrolling in the trials.
He explained, “A vaccine is probably the only way to manage in the medium term. We need to get a trial done quickly. Anyone who can enroll, and especially we in the healthcare fraternity who understand the risks, should.”
The sooner a vaccine could be found, the sooner this virus can stop causing massive disruptions in public health and economies globally, he added. Wits Professor of Vaccinology, Shabir Madhi, who leads the South African Covid-19 vaccine trial said, “Waiting for results to come in from other studies would just lead to a lag in terms of the timing when vaccines would be introduced in South Africa as well as other low- and middle-income countries.”
Dasoo said, “For those who have expressed anxiety at the trials being conducted here, my enrollment, together with other doctors and medical scientists, should provide comfort that the trial is safe.”
If you would like to volunteer to participate in South Africa’s first Covid-19 vaccine trial or more information on it please contact the following: vidacov19@rmpru.co.za; Soweto area 072 055 1249; Hillbrow area 064 850 0744; Tshwane area 074 800 7772.
