Volunteers needed for RSV vaccine in the elderly or respiratory syncytial virus study – CBS Denver

LONGMONT, Colorado (CBS4) – We hear a lot about vaccines these days, especially for COVID-19 and influenza. Now volunteers are needed to participate in a study that could protect us from another virus that strikes often this time of year – respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.

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Most parents have probably heard of RSV because it is often diagnosed in infants and toddlers. The virus causes lung infections which can become serious. However, many may not realize that RSV is also dangerous for older people.

“RSV has been around for decades, and many people have heard of it or know it because children can get the virus. It turns out that adults, especially adults 60 and older, and almost 100,000 people end up in hospital each year, ”said Dr. Clint Flanagan of Nextera Healthcare in northern Colorado.

Unfortunately, some 14,000 seniors do not survive RSV each year. This is a big reason why Dr Flanagan is helping Tekton Research with clinical studies as a principal investigator to develop a vaccine against the virus.

“Now we are in phase 3 where we are looking to enroll 30,000 people around the world,” he told Kelly Werthmann of CBS4. “About half will receive the vaccine, half will receive the placebo. Then we’ll be monitoring these people for the next couple of years or so to see who is doing better. “

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Among the participants are Norman Cook of Longmont, 88, and his 60-year-old daughter, Lorri Koctar. Neither of them know if they received the vaccine or the placebo as this is a blind study, and both said they felt good and did not feel. no side effects.

“It was a wonderful process and I really enjoyed it,” said Koctar. ” I learned a lot.

Koctar said she first heard about the RSV vaccine study on Facebook. She told her father about it and they both decided to join in. Cook said he had never heard of RSV until his daughter told him about the study, and that’s when he learned that the virus can also cause pneumonia. .

“My mother died in 1939 from pneumonia,” he said. “I thought maybe she had RSV and they hadn’t discovered it by then. So, I figured I would just participate in the study in the hopes that it would help someone.

Thanks to Cook and his daughter, researchers are even closer to helping millions of people around the world.

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“The information and research so far has brought us to a point where we’re pretty sure it looks good enough,” said Dr Flanagan.

However, the study is far from complete and more volunteers are needed. Participants must be 60 years of age or older to register. Those interested can visit www.tektonresearch.com to find out more and register for the study.