CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tryon Medical Partners is one of nearly 90 places across the country participating in the trial for the vaccine manufactured by bio-tech company Moderna. It’s the first vaccine trial tested in humans and will include 30,000 people nationwide, including thousands in the Carolinas.
“We’re really excited to be able to offer this here locally,” said Dr. Ryan Shelton, an Internal Medicine Specialist with Tryon Medical Partners. “We’re really excited to be one of 87 centers participating in this Phase 3 trial. So it’s already been studied to some extent, but now it has to be studied at a larger scale.”
Doctors officially started enrolling people in Charlotte on Monday. So far, there's been a huge interest with more than 1,400 people signing up here in Charlotte.
“I think that’s a great sign. We feel like this is something that is opportunity for us to be able to contribute to us getting beyond this pandemic. So hopefully this will turn out to be a safe and viable option and to be as good as we think it is up front.”
The vaccine developed by Moderna will not make people sick. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the vaccine contains a component of the novel coronavirus which generates an immune response and helps produce antibodies.
Doctors at Tryon Medical Partners are looking for more volunteers to get the vaccine or a placebo. The trial is taking place at Tryon Medical Partners SouthPark location and won’t be limited to Tryon patients.
For those who want to participate in the trial, Tryon is looking for adults 65 and up as well as adults 18-64 who are at a higher risk of exposure. Those at higher risk include teachers, first responders, healthcare workers, frontline workers and students living on a college campus this fall.
To sign up, call the Tryon Medical Partners research line at 704-586-9386.
Other locations in the state are also part of the Moderna study. Those North Carolina locations include research facilities in Chapel Hill, Fayetteville, Raleigh, Wilmington and Winston-Salem.