UCLA Seeks Los Angeles Area Volunteers for Covid-19 Studies on Treatment and Prevention of Coronavirus

"The researchers want to make sure older people who may have been exposed, essential workers, health care workers, home aides, and parents and caregivers of children who might be diagnosed as schools reopen know this trial is underway and how to reach out. We're trying to get the word out about the website, http://www.covidplasmatrial.org, says Liz DeForest, speaking for Johns Hopkins University.

"This trial will help determine whether antibodies from people who have recovered from Covid-19 can help people who have either been recently exposed, or who have been recently diagnosed and have symptoms, avoid getting very sick," she says.

The press release is below.

COVID PLASMA TRIALS ENROLLING IN LOS ANGELES

People who either: Were tested for Covid-19 no more than 5 days ago and were positively diagnosed, who still have symptoms but haven't been hospitalized. Or were in close contact with someone who has Covid-19 no more than 3 days ago, who don't have any symptoms.

This trial will help determine whether antibodies from people who have recovered from Covid-19 can help people who have either been recently exposed, or who have been recently diagnosed and have symptoms, avoid getting very sick. While other antibody trials are underway for people who have needed hospitalization, this set of two studies seeks to determine whether giving people antibodies earlier in the illness is effective at treating early-stage coronavirus and in preventing those exposed to it from catching the disease. More details are in this UCLA video here.

Trials are being conducted on-site at UCLA, 833 Tiverton Drive, Los Angeles

Will participants be compensated? Yes. More details are available once they have contacted the investigators via the website or phone number below.

How to enroll and when: Enrolling now. Those who have been recently exposed, or are newly diagnosed and have symptoms, can contact UCLA and Johns Hopkins at 888-506-1199 or http://www.covidplasmatrial.org to take the enrollment questionnaire – if too many days pass, they may not qualify to participate. This study is entirely voluntary, and participants will be compensated.

Why does this trial matter? This is the first U.S. multi-center, double-blind, randomized clinical trial to assess the effectiveness of convalescent blood plasma as an outpatient therapy. Antibodies are one of the best options being tested for treatment and prevention. If this option is deemed effective, it would be one of the lower-cost options for treating and/or preventing coronavirus illness worldwide, compared to vaccines, which might be too costly for some populations and countries.