As we reach what looks like the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, we need to be reminded that this fight is far from over. In fact, India is currently battling a devastating COVID-19 outbreak. Numbers are reaching record highs, hospitals are at capacity, and resources are scarce. Experts warn us that “the more the virus spreads, the more chances it has to mutate and create variants that could eventually resist current vaccines, threatening to undermine other countries’ progress in containing the pandemic” (CNN).
India, and countless other low to lower-middle income nations, simply don’t have enough vaccines to stop the spread. According to Duke University’s Global Health Innovation Center, “high-income countries have purchased more than half of the Covid-19 vaccine supply to date, and low-income countries, just 9 percent.” Over 40 percent of the US population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine (CDC). In countries like Guinea, less than 1 percent of the population have been vaccinated (Vox). In India, about 8 percent of the population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Vox has estimated that at the rate we are going, it will take at least two more years for the poorest countries to have vaccinated the majority of their population.
Because we truly believe that we are all in this together, we want to do our part to ensure a more equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. In order to do this, we need to first increase the number of manufacturers to expand vaccine-making capacity. We have partnered with the company Sanofi to help them receive FDA approval for their COVID-19 vaccine. Sanofi, while still in development for their own COVID-19 vaccine, helped manufacture the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. They are the only company to have used their resources to support the distribution of all three vaccines!
To get Sanofi’s COVID-19 vaccine on the market, we need volunteers! We are seeking healthy people ages 18 to 49 who have never had COVID-19 and who have not yet received the COVID-19 vaccine. Volunteers will receive the investigational COVID-19 vaccine and be compensated up to $1,400.00 for their time. If this is something you are interested in helping with, we urge you to fill out our interest form! You may also email or call our research team at 310-265-1623.
Time is, of course, of the essence. The quicker COVID-19 vaccines can be manufactured, the more lives we can save! We hope you will consider helping us in getting Sanofi’s COVID-19 vaccine on the market and to the people!