Older adults, minorities missing in covid vaccine tests

Older adults “need people who are trained to communicate with people who are hard of hearing or visually impaired. Sometimes they need their family members to be present or to give proxy

consent,” she explains. Many studies also require participants to check in with a smartphone or video chat. "A lot of these obstacles can be easily overcome, if they're just

thinking about it … and are willing to invest the extra time and resources,” Inouye adds. To reduce technological barriers older adults might face, the COVID-19 Prevention Network recently

launched a call center (866-288-1919 toll-free) to answer questions and enroll interested volunteers. The network is also working with faith leaders in minority communities to help build

trust and generate interest in the trials. Study sites across the country are taking similar actions — partnering with local organizations and businesses in communities hit hardest by the

virus to increase enrollment and dispel myths about the trials. PARTICIPATION DOESN'T COME WITHOUT RISK Another factor that is likely preventing people from signing up for vaccine

studies: safety concerns. A national survey from the Pew Research Center shows that the number of Americans who intend to get a vaccine to prevent COVID-19 is dropping, and a lot has to do

with unease over the rushed development process. But as Kublin notes, the trials “are following the very stepwise process that we routinely do for vaccines,” only the timeframe has been

compressed. Plus: “The stakes are just way too high,” Inouye adds. “Even though [drug companies] are under a lot of pressure to rush things, they know they only need to have one terrible

side effect to shut down everything.” That's not to say there are no risks associated with participating in a clinical trial. All volunteers — including those injected with the placebo

— can expect some pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, similar to a flu shot, Chen says. Some participants have also reported fevers and achy joints. In early September,

AstraZeneca paused its trial because of a suspected adverse reaction in one participant, but the odds of a severe side effect occurring are pretty rare, Inouye says. “What I would say is

that anyone who volunteers in a trial is going to be monitored so closely that the chances of something really serious happening are there but are diminishingly small,” she adds. Another

risk to consider: A false sense of protection. Volunteers will not know whether they received the vaccine or the placebo, making it all the more important to continue preventive measures

that reduce exposure to the virus, Chen says. "We don't want our older adults who are in the study to say, ‘I think I might have gotten a vaccine. So I'm gonna go out;

I'm going to take my vacation now; [I'm going] to go to the bars, go to the restaurants or whatever,'” he adds. Participating in a large research study is not for everyone,

Chen notes. However, he's hopeful that with more education and outreach, most of the population, including older adults and minorities, will choose to get vaccinated, either in the

trials or shortly after a vaccine's approval, as part of the global effort to defeat COVID-19. "Vaccines don't work unless they're used. They could be on the shelf and

licensed, but if they're not used and taken up in the population, it doesn't help,” he says.