WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — A coronavirus vaccine phase three trial is taking place right here in Iowa. It's called the AstraZeneca vaccine and the medical staff at The Iowa Clinic are the test subjects and are eager to do their part.
The Iowa Clinic was chosen as one of 100 test sites around the country and it's the only test site in Iowa for the vaccine. There are 40 thousand patients taking place in the trial nationwide.
A patient must get the AstraZeneca vaccine twice in order for it be effective. That means that once someone gets the vaccine they need to come back and get it again 30 days later. 2/3 of patients will get the vaccine and 1/3 will receive the placebo.
"It's very exciting. This has gotten so rampant around Iowa and the Des Moines area that people want to help," said Iowa Clinic physician Dr. Kathleen Jones. "The Iowa Clinic staff is all excited to be able to help and have a vaccine."
She says the vaccine is what we need in order to get COVID-19 under control.
Doctor Jones is not allowed to take part in the trial herself as a physician, but she says she would if she could.
Iowa was chosen for it's high coronavirus numbers and the clinic was chosen due to it's research background and it's success with many other studies.