COVID-19 vaccine trial set to begin in San Diego

SAN DIEGO – UC San Diego has announced it will being administering a COVID-19 vaccination trial in the coming weeks in conjunction with Oxford University and AstraZeneca, a British pharmaceutical company.

This is part of a nationwide trial that will include 30,000 people across the country with 1,600 in San Diego County and an additional 1,200 in Imperial County, which is located between San Diego and the Arizona border.

This test is not the first to take place in San Diego. Another is ongoing, testing a vaccine developed by Moderna, a biotech company based in Massachusetts.

“We’re really hoping to invite members of the community who are ready to be part of the solution and participate in these local-backed vaccine clinical trials,” said Dr. Susan Little, director of the UCSD trial site.

The testing will center in San Diego communities that have been hit the hardest by COVID-19 — areas where mostly Latinos reside.

The Chicano Federation in San Diego has agreed to conduct outreach and some education surrounding the testing to make sure people understand the trial and the vaccine should they choose to be part of it.

“Our role at the Chicano Federation is to be that trusted messenger and ensuring that any member of the community who has a question and wants the honest truth about the vaccine has a place to go and get it,” said Nancy Maldonado, CEO with the Chicano Federation.

Source: Border Report