Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Facebook
A Memphis vaccine trial will enlist 500 for a possible COVID-19 drug.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) will offer a testing site here for the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson’s Phase 3 clinical research study. 
St. Jude and UTHSC are recruiting adults aged 18 and older, who are in stable health, and have never received a COVID-19 vaccine. Specifically, they are looking for volunteers who are more likely to be exposed to COVID-19, such as:
• People with underlying medical conditions
• People with greater chances of exposure at their job
• People who live or work in elder-care facilities
• People over age 65
• People who work in jails or prisons
• People from racial and ethnic groups that have been impacted in greater numbers by the COVID-19 pandemic, including people who are African American/Black, Latinx, American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaskan Native.
The trial here is part of larger trial that will test 60,000 people. The trial is testing the safety and effectiveness of a single dose of Janssen’s experimental drug. Some in the trial will receive the drug. Some will receive a placebo, a liquid with no active ingredients.
During the study, participants will be asked about their medical history and for blood, saliva, and nasal swab samples for testing, including for COVID-19. At the study site, participants will get one injection in the arm, unless otherwise indicated. After the vaccine, volunteers will track how they feel, and study staff will do occasional checkups.
Participants will not be exposed to COVID-19 as part of the study. If participants do test positive for the virus, they will be tested and staff members will monitor them daily.
For more information on the vaccine trial here visit visit www.preventcovidmemphis.org or email covidvaccinestudy@stjude.org.