Public invited to #BePartOfResearch as Greater Manchester reveals its research response to the COVID-19 pandemic

People are invited to an online event to hear how Greater Manchester has played a key part in the groundbreaking research which has turned the tide on COVID-19.

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in Greater Manchester is hosting the webinar, which takes place from 1pm tomorrow (Friday).

Anyone can attend.

It follows-on from International Clinical Trials Day today and is the start of NIHR’s month-long #BePartOfResearch public awareness campaign.

The event will hear how Greater Manchester has played a significant part in the development of vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics which are already allowing millions of people to be safely tested, treated, and protected from the virus.

The webinar will feature contributions from NHS nurses and investigators who helped carry out COVID-19 studies with patients across Greater Manchester’s hospitals and other care settings.

Local participants who took part in trials to identify safe and effective vaccines and medications for COVID will also share their experiences.

Attendees will hear how they can get involved in upcoming local research opportunities, including the option to sign up to local scheme Research for the Future, as the NIHR continues to undertake research into the evolving threat of coronavirus and all other disease areas.

The full impact of Greater Manchester’s contribution to health and care research in 2020/21 will be revealed in a report published by NIHR Clinical Research Network Greater Manchester later this month.

These are some key highlights.

Over the past year, NIHR-supported research in Greater Manchester has:

● Recruited, by consent, over 80,000 participants to take part in research studies. This included 52,000 participants to take part in the 44 urgent COVID-19 research studies taking place across Greater Manchester.

● Recruited 1,765 participants to take part in COVID-19 vaccine trials, including trials of the effective Novavax vaccine due imminently for approval and rollout in the UK.

● Led the UK’s research of fast and reliable COVID-19 tests which resulted in city-wide mass testing evaluations and were instrumental in helping get pupils back to school, allowing families into care homes and trialling face-to-face events.

● Recruited over 2,500 patients across 11 hospitals on to the flagship RECOVERY trial which has led to two life-saving treatments - dexamethasone and tocilizumab - against COVID-19.

● Recruited 19,650 patients onto the ISARIC 4C study which has helped medics determine the most appropriate treatments for patients and informed government policy on shielding, understanding the spread of COVID-19 and vaccination.

Sarah Fallon, Chief Operating Officer at NIHR Clinical Research Network Greater Manchester, said: “If the true value of health and care research was ever in doubt, then the past 15 months have demonstrated its transformational impact in no uncertain terms.

"Research has turned the tide on COVID-19 and it’s with great pride I can say that Greater Manchester has played a key part.

"Thank you to everyone, staff and participants, who have been part of this amazing effort.

“We invite people from all our local communities to attend our webinar to hear more about Greater Manchester’s fantastic research response to the pandemic and see how you could register your interest in future research opportunities of all different types.

"There are many different ways to get involved, including helping to design a study, being part of a discussion group, completing a survey, helping to test new equipment or participating in a clinical trial.”

People can sign-up to the webinar, for free, here

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