COVID-19 research at the Countess

VACCINE MYTHBUSTING

During the COVID-19 vaccination programme there have been some questions raised about vaccines.

For NHS staff, inoculations such as the annual flu jab and hepatitis B injections are fairly routine, but with the coronavirus vaccine being the largest campaign of its kind in the NHS’ history there are people less used to having regular vaccinations who have needed reassurance.

With this in mind, the Trust’s social media accounts have been sharing national and local information and background to reassure people that the vaccines are safe. Indira Esram, Diabetes Specialist Nurse, discussed the speed with which the vaccines have been developed, stressing that they have undergone the same testing as any other medication, just in a more condensed time frame.

“It’s important to have the vaccine because it has gone through very rigorous safety checks and clinical trials in order for the Medical Health Regulations Authority (MHRA) to approve the vaccine. It is safe, I’ve had it and I’ve been feeling fine,” she said. “For me it was very important to have the vaccine because I know my risk of getting coronavirus and being ill with it is much higher than the rest of the population.” Francesca Dutton, Nursing Assistant, was reluctant over the vaccine herself at first, but reading through the official information about it on the MHRA website made her feel better about having it. Francesca, who hopes the vaccine programme will enable her to hold her second grandson for the first time soon, said: “I didn’t want to have the vaccine, but once I read the leaflets, I felt better about it. It’s not what people think, like I thought, that ‘if I have the vaccine, I’m going to get it’. That won’t happen. If you’ve ever had the measles injection, it’s no different to that.” Mr Sunanda Mahapatra, General Surgeon, looked into the ingredients of the vaccine and doesn’t think there is anything that should stop anyone having it. “One of the big myths is about the animal cell line,” he said. “I can categorically say that I’ve gone through the whole literature and I have been through various vaccine studies and there is no animal cell line in either of the vaccines being used. There is nothing there that should stop anyone having the vaccine, either from a religious or a personal belief.”

Countess plays significant role in COVID-19 research

Researchers at the Countess has been heavily involved in several urgent public health research studies into COVID-19 over the past 12 months.

The Trust was the second highest recruiter in the North West for the SIREN study which is examining how previously having COVID-19 protects against re-infection and the effectiveness of the vaccines.

More than 320 members of staff at the Countess were recruited into the study, making the Trust the 39th highest recruiter in England for this particular research, which involves participants undergoing regular swab and blood tests. Preliminary results demonstrated that previously contracting COVID-19 provides 80% protection from repeat infection for at least five months. Further results have demonstrated the real-world effectiveness of the vaccine programme and has directly informed the national roadmap to ease lockdown.

The Trust is also heavily involved in the RECOVERY study, which is the largest treatment intervention trial for COVID-19. As a result of this study health professionals now know treatments such as Dexamethasone and Tocilizumab can make a difference and has saved thousands of lives globally. Other findings have shown treatments that may not be effective. The Countess has, again, been consistently among the top performers in this study in the UK and is represented in three major publications from the trial. Countess researchers in the Intensive Care Unit are also working on the REMAP-CAP study and the GenOMICC trial, which are examining the reasons for different responses to coronavirus and treatments for the most severely ill patients. Carys Jones, Research Manager, said: “It’s been an extraordinary year. I’m very grateful that staff have worked so collaboratively in order to maximise the opportunities for our patients to access treatments and to contribute to our learning about this condition throughout the pandemic. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered. It really has made a difference.”