PICOBOO - The Platform Trial In COVID-19 Vaccine BOOsting (PICOBOO) Study
PICOBOO may sound like a children’s game, but it has been one of our largest studies for 2022 and it has kept our team very busy! Designed to assess and provide evidence for future COVID-19 booster vaccination strategies, including which combination of vaccines will provide the best long-term protection, the PICOBOO Study is recruiting in Perth, Adelaide, and Launceston.
Participants are randomised to receive a booster dose of either Pfizer, Moderna or Novovax COVID-19 vaccines, and subsequent blood tests are conducted to reveal what effect vaccination has on the immune system, and how long these effects last. Over 300 participants have been enrolled at the Perth site which works out to be 1450 study visits completed, 4500 laboratory specimens collected, and 21,400 sample aliquots processed!
The study initially opened to participants aged over 50 years who had received Astra Zeneca or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines as their first two doses. Throughout the year the study has expanded thanks to additional funding to include teenagers and children, and is now enrolling participants aged 18-49 years for their first or second COVID-19 booster, and adolescents aged 12-17 years for their first booster.
We are currently looking for:
- Adults aged 70 and over who have received Astra Zeneca as their primary dose and want to receive their 2nd booster (4th dose).
- Adults aged 18 – 69 who have received Pfizer as their primary dose and want to receive their 2nd booster (4th dose).
- Adolescents aged 12 – 17 who have had two doses of Pfizer or two doses of Moderna and are interested in their 1st booster (3rd dose).
Please register for the PICOBOO Study here, or contact Vax4COVID@telethonkids.org.au
2023 will see the inclusion of bivalent vaccines and recruitment for a 5th dose of vaccine (3rd booster), which is currently unavailable through the government's COVID-19 vaccine program. New and existing PICOBOO participants will be eligible so please keep an eye out for further information.
COVALIA Study
This year we were excited to partner with the University of Sydney and Technovalia for the first human trial of a needle-free COVID-19 DNA vaccine. DNA vaccines offer numerous potential advantages over traditional approaches; manufacture is faster and easier, the vaccines are more stable, there are no infectious agents and it can stimulate both B- and T-cell immune responses.
The vaccine, called Covigen, is administered via a needle-free device which penetrates the skin with a precise fluid stream in 1/10th of a second. These hand-held needle-free devices can be used to administer less volume of vaccine, thereby stretching the available doses which will be beneficial when supply is limited by global manufacturing capacity. This also reduces vaccine wastage and increases cost effectiveness.
Recruitment for the COVALIA Study has now been completed, with participants in Part A receiving the study vaccine as their first COVID-19 vaccine. Their one year follow-up visits concluded in November and we look forward to receiving the results soon. In Part B, our participants received COVIGEN as their first booster, and we will be completing the six month visits and interim analysis shortly. A big thank you goes out to our wonderful COVALIA participants.