West Oxfordshire GP practices to trial Norovirus vaccine

The Nova 301 Trial is looking to recruit about 25,000 people globally to investigate the effectiveness of the mRNA vaccine.

It has been developed by Moderna and like the company’s Covid jab, it delivers instructions to the immune systems on how to recognise an invasive virus and protect against it by producing antibodies.

It is supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the research arm of the NHS.

NIHR called norovirus “one of the most common causes of stomach bugs in the UK”.

It added that it was “quite unusual” for a vaccine trial to take place in a GP practice.

Dr Nick Thomas who leads the study at Windrush Medical Practice called it “a fantastic opportunity for us in West Oxfordshire and Oxfordshire as a whole”.

“We are so proud and pleased to be taking part in and supporting this,” he said, adding that it was open to people all across the region to participate.

Participants will be given either the vaccine or a placebo jab and must be willing to attend up to seven scheduled clinic visits during the trial.

They are required to be “18 years of age or over, be in good health and should not currently have a chronic gastrointestinal disease”, including any medical condition with regular vomiting or diarrhoea.

NIHR said researchers would “also make sure that participants understand the important details about the trial before agreeing to take part”.