NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island in Mineola has opened a new center to expand trials of a potential COVID-19 vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca.
At the new center, health professionals seek to enroll 30,000 people globally, ages 18 to 85, who will each randomly either receive the experimental vaccine or a placebo solution.
“It’s very exciting for us, and Long Island, to participate in vaccine trials aimed at controlling COVID-19,” said Dr. Steven Carsons, director of the Vaccine Center at NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island, which was until recently known as NYU Winthrop Hospital. “While emerging infectious diseases will always be a threat, COVID-19 is clearly the greatest health threat in a hundred years. By working together to establish effective vaccines, hopefully we will conquer it.”
NYU Langone Health is one of 10 hospitals in the nation accredited as a specialized National Institute of Health-funded Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit, or VTEU. As a VTEU, Langone is part of the COVID-19 Prevention Network, supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and composed of existing NIAID-supported clinical research networks with infectious disease expertise, designed for rapid and thorough evaluation of vaccine candidates.
In addition to assisting with the creation of a vaccine for COVID-19, the new vaccine center on Long Island will enroll residents in future vaccine trials for other illnesses, such as influenza.
“Our new location at NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island brings cutting-edge medical research to patient populations that we serve,” said Dr. Mark Mulligan, director of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology and director of the Vaccine Center at NYU Langone Health, “including those currently underrepresented in clinical trials such as Black, Hispanic and elderly people who are at higher than average risk of COVID-19 infection.”
To learn more about vaccine trial enrollment, visit nyulmc.org/covidvaccine or contact NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island at 516-663-3890 or nyuwinthropvaccine@nyulangone.org.
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