Background: The media have played an important part in presenting arguments for and against vaccination. The potential for the media to influence public attitudes to vaccines is becoming increasingly crucial to address.
Methods: To understand the differing roles and responsibilities in the communication of vaccine trials we draw insight from a retrospective study of 349 survey responses and 102 semi-structured interviews conducted in 2020 with participants in the United Kingdom's first-in-human clinical trial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
Preclinical (animal) testing and human testing of drugs and vaccines are rarely considered by social scientists side by side. Where this is done, it is typically for theoretically exploring the ethics of the two situations to compare relative treatment. In contrast, we empirically explore how human clinical trial participants understand the role of animal test subjects in vaccine development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn early 2020, adult volunteers were invited to participate in a first-in-human trial of the COVID-19 vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, in the United Kingdom (UK) at the height of the global pandemic when there was uncertainty regarding vaccine efficacy and side-effects. We conducted a retrospective survey of these uniquely situated individuals to gain insight into their views about the risks, motivations, and expectations of the trial and potential vaccine deployment. Our data from 349 respondents show that these volunteers were educated to a high-level with a clear understanding of the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as an appreciation of the role of science and research in developing a vaccine to address this global problem.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To establish consensus definitions for necrotising otitis externa (NOE) to facilitate the diagnosis and exclusion of NOE in clinical practice and expedite future high-quality study of this neglected condition.
Design: The work comprised of a systematic review of the literature, five iterative rounds of consultation via a Delphi process and open discussion within the collaborative. An expert panel analysed the results to produce the final outputs which were shared with and endorsed by national specialty bodies.
Background: Vaccine nationalism has become a key topic of discussion during the development, testing, and rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. Media attention has highlighted the ways that global, coordinated access to vaccines has been limited during the pandemic. It has also exposed how some countries have secured vaccine supply, through bilateral purchase agreements and the way pharmaceutical companies have priced, negotiated, and delivered these supplies.
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