Paradigm Clinical Research Featured in Fox 5 News La Mesa, CA
La Mesa clinic conducting vaccine trials against RSV LA MESA, Calif. — A local La Mesa clinic is looking for patients to test vaccine trials for RSV. Researchers are hoping these vaccine trials can help combat the so-called “tripledemic” that many health officials are warning about. Researchers are looking for more patients to take part in this study. Jamie Williams of Paradigm Clinical Research showed FOX 5 kits they use to track antibodies in patients against respiratory syncytial virus or RSV. “The idea is that the subjects get one vaccine and they’re protected against RSV, so we follow them both for safety and to see if they develop RSV throughout the season,” said Williams. She is helping conduct clinic trials of an mRNA vaccine to protect against RSV in the elderly population. “What that means is there’s no live virus in the vaccine,” said Jamie. “We give that vaccine like a message and that tells your body to develop antibodies, which our immune systems build to fight infection.” The study comes at a time when respiratory virus cases are rising across the county. Health officials are warning of a “tripledemic” surge of cases of flu, COVID-19 and RSV. “The numbers are really high right now and there is research saying that our bodies are actually capable of carrying more than one virus at a time,” says Williams. County health officials say they don’t have a role in clinical trials, but released its latest respiratory virus report. It reported nearly 90,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 3700 flu cases in the county. “Having those cases helps bring awareness of how serious RSV can be. We’re trying to get subjects vaccinated before those cases really get out of control,” says Williams. Paradigm Clinical Research says it is still looking for hundreds of patients in the San Diego and La mesa area to participate. They say each patient will receive compensation per visit. Read the full article by Fox 5
Paradigm Clinical Research Featured in KRCR News Redding, CA
Redding-based clinical research center helps combat flu, RSV and COVID-19 by Mike Mangas, Adam Robinson – Monday, October 31st 2022 REDDING, Calif. — A Redding-based clinical research center is helping combat communicable diseases like COVID-19, RSV, and the flu to name just a few. Paradigm Clinical Research was started in Redding in 2009 and now has sites in the San Diego and Denver, Colo. areas, with plans to expand to three more locations in the next year. They enroll volunteers to research the effectiveness of vaccines. “They either receive an RSV vaccine or a placebo. They don’t know; we don’t know. It’s bonded data. Essentially, we draw their blood, we send it to a central lab, and they’re checking antibodies to check to see if the vaccine is efficacious. And we don’t get data of that until after the study ends,” said Sarah Sandberg, the center’s site manager. Volunteers do it for different reasons; there’s a small stipend. But, for someone like registered nurse Dawn Smith, it’s because she’s seen patients die unnecessarily. “I am an RN, and I have observed, participated [in], and witnessed patients who have not been able to, or not educated to, have immunizations. And that gap has caused dire consequences in our community,” Dawn told Mike during an interview on Monday. “I get [that] it’s for the research purposes. Not only does it further the research [on] the last vaccine, which was for COVID-19—that was Moderna. It’s helped out a lot; got the vaccine out to people a lot quicker. And, also, there’s the money factor. It helps out having a little extra money in your pocket,” said Mike Woodward, another research volunteer. Although they have a healthy database, Paradigm is always looking for more volunteers on any number of research projects. “We’re currently doing a flu vaccine study. It’s an mRNA-based flu vaccine for Pfizer. The placebo is the marketed flu vaccine. And that’s 18 and older. We just started enrolling for the full age group today,” Clinical Research Coordinator Emily Crews. Read the full article by KRCR