• The Saint-Etienne University Hospital is looking for volunteers to form two groups of non-vaccinated people.

  • The aim is to study the immune response to the anti-Covid vaccine, more particularly between 24 and 72 hours after the first injection.

  • The study, compensated, will last one year.

    Other branches will soon open in the region.

As the Covid-19 epidemic wave picks up in Europe, there are some instances where not being vaccinated can serve science.

The Saint-Etienne University Hospital (Loire) is looking for unvaccinated volunteers for a study called Covimmunage, based on two groups: on the one hand, people who have had Covid-19 and have not yet been vaccinated ;

on the other, those who have not had it and will be vaccinated.

The very short-term effects of the vaccine

"This study consists in deciphering the immune response to vaccination very precisely, with an mRNA, Pfizer or Moderna vaccine," explains Professor Bothelo-Nevers, who is leading this research.

Its originality is to study the very early immune response, namely 24 to 72 hours after vaccination, which is currently little known.

"

The longer-term immune response will also be observed, since the volunteers will continue to be monitored by the CHU.

Covimmunage will also try to understand "what is called reactogenicity, ie to know why such and such a person will have more fever, pain, local reactions for example, after vaccination".

Volunteers still too rare

However, the Saint-Etienne University Hospital is currently struggling to gather new unvaccinated volunteers. Especially since a great diversity is necessary to be able to measure the impact of the virus and the vaccine according to age… The people who presented themselves were not hostile to the vaccine, but various fears prevented them from taking the plunge. . "The fact that the vaccination takes place in a study, that there is close monitoring of volunteers, that the vaccines are well tolerated, that can be reassuring," continues Professor Bothelo-Nevers. Some tell us that they were planning to get vaccinated and that they wanted it to be used to advance medical knowledge. "

Adult volunteers can contact the CHU by email (rechercheeclinique.vaccins@chu-st-etienne.fr) or by phone (04 77 12 07 90) for a telephone interview where the study will be detailed.

If they meet the eligibility criteria, appointments will be made for them for a number of tests, including blood.

“The study lasts a year, with close appointments at the beginning, at the time of vaccination, then more spaced out: in all, seven visits are scheduled for those who have already had the virus, ten for the others.

"

Other centers will open in the region

The study is not remunerated but compensated, and travel covered.

For those who cannot make it to the CHU, a clinical research nurse can come to the home.

The vaccine protocol takes place as if we were outside a study, "and these are not new vaccines," says Professor Bothelo-Nevers.

As this is an academic study, the results will be made public so that the entire scientific and medical community can have access to them.

Other centers will soon open in the region, starting with Lyon: the study is being carried out in collaboration with Bioaster, an institute for technological innovation in microbiology based in Lyon.

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  • Coronavirus

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  • Saint Etienne

  • Chu

  • Anti-covid vaccine