Vaccine specialist: Trial recruitment has become harder since Covid-19 pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic considerably accelerated the development of other vaccines and brought about lasting changes in the sector, says vaccine expert Isabel Leroux-Roels of Ghent University. But conducting clinical studies has become more difficult.
“When there are sufficient resources and focus, you can achieve really fantastic things,” says Leroux-Roels, five years after the National Security Council convened for the first time to discuss the emerging virus.
At the time, the Centre for Vaccinology (CEVAC) at UGent had conducted several large-scale studies into new vaccines. While the number of employees at the centre has since doubled, the number of people signing up to participate in clinical trials of vaccines has fallen.
“During the pandemic, there was a huge rush. People were anxious and wanted to be vaccinated as quickly as possible,” says Leroux-Roels. “Sometimes we had to call security to remove people who said, ‘I’m not leaving here until I get that vaccine.’”
Now that the pandemic is over, though, the situation has changed drastically. “It has become more difficult to find people,” says Leroux-Roels. “The criteria for participating in studies have also become stricter.”
"During the pandemic, there was a huge rush. People were anxious and wanted to be vaccinated as quickly as possible"
One of the challenges in recruiting trial participants is that young people are less motivated to participate.
“During the pandemic, there was a clear incentive: people were given a potentially effective vaccine before the rest of the population could get it. That created an enormous drive among people,” she explains. Now that advantage is no longer there, motivation has declined.
Negative perceptions of the safety and effectiveness of vaccines are also a factor. Sensational reports about safety spread faster than scientific facts, which has eroded confidence in vaccines, especially among younger people, Leroux-Roels says.
This has led to one of the biggest negative effects of the pandemic: an increase in hesitancy, which also affects other vaccines. As a result, there is a risk that serious childhood diseases such as measles will return.
#FlandersNewsService | © CEVAC vaccinology centre in Ghent, July 2020. BELGA PHOTO JONAS D'HOLLANDER
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