COVID-19 AND YOU
Information to help you make decisions about your health and what you can do to join the fight against COVID-19.
I've Never Had COVID-19:Join a Prevention Trial
I Have COVID-19:Find a Treatment Trial
I've Recovered from COVID-19:Donate Plasma
I'm a Doctor:Treatment Options and Trials
INTRODUCTION
Every day, we learn more about the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Scientists and doctors working on this disease need your help to develop safe and effective vaccines and medicines for preventing and treating COVID-19 that will help us all. Clinical trials need people from all age groups, races, ethnicities, and backgrounds. On this website, you can find information about clinical trials you can participate in as well as ways to donate blood and plasma that will lead to prevention and treatment breakthroughs to benefit everyone.
Ensuring Inclusion in Clinical Trials
We want to ensure that all people regardless of their race or ethnicity or disability are included in COVID-19 clinical trials. There can be no barriers for at-risk communities to enroll in clinical trials due to costs or access or lack of information. Because clinical trials evaluate whether a medical product is safe and effective for all populations, enrollment should include individuals of all races and ethnicities as well as those who have disabilities. Only with representation from all groups of people in clinical trials for regulated medical products will we be able to help researchers find better preventions and treatments that work for all communities and help us win the fight against COVID-19.
Where Can I Find a Clinical Trial for Preventing COVID-19?
We know much more today than we did even a month ago about ways to stay healthy during the pandemic. As scientists and researchers have studied the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, we have learned more about how the virus behaves and how to slow its spread. Healthy people can help in the fight against COVID-19 by volunteering to participate in a clinical trial to help find a safe and effective vaccine against the virus. Safe and effective vaccines will be a critical part of our success in ending the pandemic.
Simply put, a vaccine trains the immune system to recognize viruses and bacteria. The human body produces proteins called antibodies to fight these and other types of pathogens. By introducing weakened or killed strains (or parts) of viruses, bacteria, fungi, or parasites, the body can safely develop antibodies that can recognize and fight a full-scale infection caused when the pathogens multiply and affect normal processes in the body.
What Treatment Trials of Investigational Drugs are Seeking Volunteers?
COVID-19 is a very complicated disease that affects people in many different ways. Some people have the disease without ever developing symptoms, but many more have a wide range of symptoms and some develop very severe cases of the disease. People with the disease can help in the fight against COVID-19 by participating in a clinical trial to develop effective ways to treat the disease. Safe treatments that reduce the most dangerous symptoms in many patients, especially those at risk for complications, are urgently needed. You can help us find them.
What Can I Do to Help Others Recover from This Disease?
Many people who have had COVID-19 continue to experience some health issues for several weeks or longer after their recovery, while others with milder symptoms recover with few lingering effects. Doctors are learning more every day about longer-term health consequences of the disease. People who have recovered can help in the fight against COVID-19 by donating plasma that can be used to treat hospitalized patients, especially those who have severe cases of the disease.