On Jul. 21, 2020, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Saint Louis University Center for Vaccine Development were tapped to join the historic effort to find a COVID-19 vaccine that can prevent the illness.

Researchers at the two universities expected to enroll about 3,000 participants in several COVID-19 vaccine trials, with each school participating in different trials.

Researchers say it will be critically important to enroll participants who are likely to be exposed to COVID-19 or those at risk for severe disease from COVID-19, including participants over age 65.

Washington University and Saint Louis University are participating in the trials as a part of the COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN), a newly organized network formed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to develop and test vaccines and treatments in the fight against COVID-19.

The COVID-19 Prevention Network will participate in large-scale phase 3 vaccine trials that will enroll thousands of participants from across the U.S. or in some cases around the world to determine whether the vaccines can prevent COVID-19 disease