Almost 6,000 people across Kent have signed up to take part in Covid-19 vaccination trials since registration opened just over a month ago.

Volunteers will be among the first invited to take part in large-scale testing in the search for protection against coronavirus which is expected to start in the autumn, according to The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

To enable large-scale vaccine studies to take place across the UK, NIHR says the aim is to get as many people as possible signed up to the register by October.

Since July 20, when the initiative was launched, more than 200,000 people have joined the register across the country, though more are needed.

There are two national coronavirus vaccine studies approved by NIHR in the UK, run by the University of Oxford and Imperial College London.

Trial protocols will vary according to each study with scientists looking for participants in all age groups of 18 years and above.

No payment is offered to take part and, depending on the experiment, some may be offered a trial vaccine while others receive a placebo.

Volunteers interested in taking part will be contacted by the research team and told where the nearest designated vaccine clinic is located. All NHS trusts and many primary care organisations across Kent are expected to be involved in some way.

Professor Martin Llewelyn, lead for infection and urgent public health research within the Kent, Surrey and Sussex, NIHR Clinical Research Network said: “I would like to thank the thousands of people across Kent, Surrey and Sussex who have already joined the NHS vaccine register and want to do their bit to help us find effective vaccines sooner.

“People who have joined the NHS vaccine register will be the first to hear when the trials start recruiting in our area. If you haven’t already, I’d urge you to sign up today through www.nhs.uk/researchcontact.

“There is no obligation to join in any study, if you are contacted. But by taking part, you could help researchers find a vaccine to protect us all more quickly.”

NHS and research officials are working with scientists and pharmaceutical companies, with the aim of bringing at least one - and possibly several - vaccines to Kent, Surrey and Sussex for testing in the autumn.

"By taking part, you could help researchers find a vaccine to protect us all more quickly..."

Researchers are looking for people from all backgrounds, ages and areas, including those with or without existing health conditions, to take part in studies, to make sure that any vaccines developed will work for everyone.

Certain groups of people are more likely to catch the virus or suffer severe illness as a result, so those who are most likely to benefit from vaccines are particularly invited to sign up. These include over the 65s, frontline workers and those from the black, Asian and ethnic minority communities.

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