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The NHS has launched a new website encouraging people to sign up for COVID-19 clinical trials in the UK.

Although signing up to the service doesn’t guarantee that you will take part in a specific clinical trial, by registering, you are letting the researchers know that you are happy for them to contact you if they think you could be a good match for one of their studies.

The initiative has been developed by the UK Government’s Vaccine Taskforce, in partnership NHS Digital and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and it is hoped that volunteers could help to find a breakthrough vaccine to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The scheme hopes to get over half a million people registered as potential volunteers for COVID-19 clinical trials which could be carried out over the next few months.

It is vital that the researchers gain access to volunteers from a variety of demographics and health backgrounds so that they can be confident that a vaccine would work universally.

Commenting on the launch of the system, the Chief Executive Officer of the COVID-19 Symptom Tracker app, Jonathan Wolf, said: “The altruism of the UK public continues to amaze us. To have nearly four million people participating in citizen science against COVID, really does restore your faith in humanity. Joining forces with NIHR will enable the UK and our volunteers to be at the forefront of vaccine testing and ultimately look to end this pandemic sooner rather than later.”

The Chief Digital Officer of the NIHR, John Nother, also commented, saying: “This new online service will be a vital tool in the fight against this disease as large scale vaccine studies get underway within the UK. The new system will enable researchers to quickly identify and match suitable and willing volunteers to appropriate vaccine trials. In doing so, it will bring enormous benefits, not only to the NHS and health researchers, but to everyone living in the UK.”

“Signing up and giving your permission to be contacted means you may be amongst the first to find out about opportunities to take part in trials and the latest, cutting-edge COVID-19 vaccines. There is no obligation to join in any study, if you are contacted. But by taking part, you could help researchers find a vaccine to protect us all more quickly, which in turn could help the NHS and save lives,” added Mr Nother.

If you are interested in helping the researchers of COVID-19 then you can find out more about what is entailed on the www.bepartofresearch.uk website - or you can sign up and register your interest for the new NHS service here.

It isn’t just COVID-19 researchers who are carrying out clinical trials at the moment. There are all sorts of opportunities for students and other young people to get involved, and possibly make some money. Read our complete guide to Clinical Trials In The UK now!