Mineola Hospital Seeks Participants For Coronavirus Vaccine Trial

MINEOLA, NY — A new vaccine center has opened at NYU Langone Hospital — Long Island, formerly known as NYU Winthrop Hospital, that seeks to enroll 30,000 patients across the globe for clinical trials of vaccines and experimental treatments for the coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 disease.

The center is enrolling patients in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. The trial aims to enroll patients who are between 18 and 85 years old. Participants will receive two doses of either the vaccine or a placebo saline solution.

Dr. Steven Carsons, director of the hospital's vaccine center, called it exciting for the hosptial to participate in COVID-19 vaccine trials.

" Vaccines have been the single greatest advancement against many deadly diseases, including smallpox, polio, and measles — diseases that routinely killed thousands yet had no effective treatments," Carsons said in a news release. "While emerging infectious diseases will always be a threat, COVID-19 is clearly the greatest health threat in a hundred years. By working together to establish effective vaccines, hopefully we will conquer it."

Vaccine designers at AstraZeneca worked with Oxford University to learn which of the virus' protein components are noticed most by the immune system. Successful vaccine ingredients teach the immune system which microbial invaders to attack upon future encounters, providing protection for a period of time.

The new vaccine center also seeks to enroll Long Islanders in future experimental vaccine trials for other infectious diseases, such as the flu.

NYU Langone Health is one of 10 specialized vaccine and treatment evaluation units in the nation that are funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Mark Mulligan, director of the division of infectious diseases and immunology and director of the Vaccine Center at NYU Langone Health, said the new location brings "cutting-edge medical research" to patients, including those who are underrepresented in clinical trials such as Black, Hispanic, and elderly people who are at higher than average risk of COVID-19 infection. Other higher-risk patients for COVID-19 include those with underlying conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, or autoimmune disease.

Those interested in enrolling in the vaccine trial can click here or contact the hospital, by phone at 516-663-3890 or by sending an email to NYUWinthropVaccine@NYULangone.org.