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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services debuted a website Wednesday in which people can sign up to participate in clinical trials related to potential COVID-19 treatments and vaccines.
The website, or network as it’s officially called, was developed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which is affiliated with the National Institutes of Health.
The NIAID said that the website, known as the COVID-19 Prevention Trials Network, was built from the merger of “four previously existing clinical trials networks that focused on HIV/AIDS.”
After people choose to enroll in the various clinical trials via the website, officials will contact and screen the potential volunteers for participation.
“Having a safe and effective medical countermeasure to prevent COVID-19 would enable us to not only save lives but also help end the global pandemic,” NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci said in a statement. “Centralizing our clinical research efforts into a single trials network will expand the resources and expertise needed to efficiently identify safe and effective vaccines and other prevention strategies against COVID-19.”
As CNN noted, the number of required volunteers is unclear.
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle will oversee the new clinical trial project.