A research trial looking into how the Covid-19 booster vaccine affects younger people is calling for volunteers from the Okehampton area.

The study is recruiting 18-30 year olds who haven’t yet had their third (booster) vaccination to see if a lower dose of the currently used vaccines will give them the same protection.

It will look at the safety and efficacy of giving lower doses of the Pfizer or Moderna Covid-19 vaccine to young adults, as well as assessing the impact on the immune response to the virus. It is looking for people who have already had Covid-19 at some point as well as people who have never had Covid-19.

Dr Ray Sheridan, consultant at the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust and associate clinical professor at the University of Exeter, said: ’This trial is an incredibly exciting opportunity for us to understand how COVID-19 boosters work against the virus and will help to inform UK immunisation policy.

’Young adults have a stronger immune response to vaccines than older adults and results from earlier studies suggest that lower doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines may give as good an immune response in young adults as higher doses. If we can use lower doses we expect to see fewer side effects and it means more vaccines will be available for other people, as a half dose means we can vaccinate two people instead of one. This will have big benefits for parts of the world that don’t yet have enough vaccines.

’We are looking for volunteers aged 18 to 30 years old, who have had 2 doses of Pfizer or Moderna, are at least 3 months (84 days) after their second dose and have not yet had a booster

’We would encourage all young adults who have not yet had their Covid-19 booster and who meet the rest of the eligibility criteria to consider signing up to this exciting clinical trial.’

Participants will also be reimbursed up to £225 for their time and travel to Exeter (depending on the total number of visits they attend).

To see if you’re eligible to take part, please go to https://www.covboost.org.uk/participate-devon-substudy to complete the pre-screening questionnaire as soon as possible.