THE NHS has launched the world’s largest clinical trial for coronavirus treatments – and needs more patients to take part.
Researchers crunched a year of planning and regulatory approval into just nine days and have almost 1,000 participants already.
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But the Health Secretary tonight called on more volunteers, adding that the “bigger the trials, the better the data and the faster we can roll out the treatments”.
Matt Hancock said that research on treatment for Covid-19 was “essential to our plan” for tackling the epidemic.
Speaking at Number 10, he said: “We are bringing together some of the finest research minds in the country to design new trials and we’re delivering them at record pace.
“We have established three national clinical trials covering each major stage of the disease – primary care, hospital care and critical care for the most seriously ill.
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“Just like the Nightingale hospital, one of these was put together in just nine days which is breathtaking speed.
“These trials are looking at the effectiveness of existing drugs and steroids, re-purposed for treatment for Covid-19.
“One of the trials, which is called recovery and deals in hospital care, is the largest of its kind in the world, with 926 patients involved.”
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, deputy chief medical officer for England, said doctors would approach suitable coronavirus patients about taking part in clinical trials in the UK.
He told the Downing Street press conference: “This is about patients who are undergoing treatment at some stage for Covid-19.
“First of all, we need the physicians in charge of their care to sign up for the clinical trial.
“Then it is up to the physician to approach the patient and ask them if they would like to take part.
We do need people to take part in the clinical trials and they are doing
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam
“It is a process of very careful written informed consent for that to happen.
“The straight answer is yes, we do need people to take part in the clinical trials and they are doing.”
Prof Van-Tam added that he expects it will be a few months before results are achieved through clinical trials.
Drugs trial
No drug has been proven to combat the coronavirus but the study aims to establish if one used for other illnesses may work.
Adults diagnosed with the disease are being offered the chance to enroll in the trial when admitted to over 100 NHS hospitals.
Those who agree to take part are randomly assigned to standard care alone or standard care plus one of three existing drugs.
These are Lopinavir-Ritonavir, which is used for HIV, Dexamethasone, used for inflammation, and Hydroxychloriquine, used in malaria.
All have been chosen because the way they work gives researchers hope they may also prove beneficial against Covid-19.
University of Oxford scientists will continually analyse data on each of the participants to see which treatment – if any – is best.
Doctors will be told immediately if one is found to be better than others at boosting survival and reducing the need for ventilators.
It comes as the Department of Health confirmed 684 more people have died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total deaths in the UK to 3,605 as of 5pm on Thursday.
And as of 9am on Friday, a total of 173,784 people have been tested for coronavirus, of which 38,168 tested positive.
Public Health England said 11,764 tests were carried out on Thursday in England.
It came as the first of the Government’s emergency field hospitals to treat coronavirus patients opened in east London’s ExCel centre.
The temporary NHS Nightingale Hospital is able to take up to 4,000 patients and will be staffed by NHS medics with help from the military.
Similar hospitals are in the pipeline across the UK, including in Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, the North East and Bristol.
The Prince of Wales officially declared the Nightingale open via video link from his Scottish castle, saying it “offers us an intensely practical message of hope for those who will need it most at this time of national suffering”.
Meanwhile, the Queen is to address the nation about coronavirus on Sunday.
Earlier, Health Secretary Matt Hancock described having coronavirus as a “pretty unpleasant experience” as he promised further action on testing.
He said he has now fully recovered from the “nasty” illness, which saw him suffer sleepless nights and an “incredibly” sore throat, as well as losing half a stone.
“It was a pretty unpleasant experience, I went downhill on Thursday last week and for a couple of nights it was very hard to sleep, incredibly painful throat, it was like having glass in my throat,” he said.
Meanwhile, two siblings of Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, the 13-year-old who died after testing positive for coronavirus, have since developed symptoms, according to a family friend.
The development meant Ismail’s mother and six siblings have been forced to self-isolate at their home in Brixton and were unable to attend his funeral on Friday.
He was buried at the Eternal Gardens Muslim burial ground at Kemnal Park Cemetery in Chislehurst by undertakers wearing protective equipment as a small number of mourners watched on from a short distance away.
Nurse deaths
In Walsall, nurse Areema Nasreen, who was in intensive care on a ventilator after testing positive for the virus, has died.
The 36-year-old mother of three had been on a ventilator at Walsall Manor Hospital where she worked as a staff nurse on the acute medical unit.
Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust’s chief executive Richard Beeken said they had hoped to take Ms Nasreen off the ventilator as she had started to show signs of improvement but she then deteriorated.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust also paid tribute to staff nurse Aimee O’Rourke, another mother-of-three, who died aged 39 on Thursday after contracting Covid-19.
In a Facebook tribute, her daughter, Megan Murphy, said: “Look at all the lives you looked after and all the families you comforted when patients passed away.
“You are an angel and you will wear your NHS crown forevermore because you earned that crown the very first day you started.”
Elsewhere, the husband of TV presenter Kate Garraway is in intensive care battling coronavirus.
Derek Draper is receiving emergency hospital treatment and Garraway was forced to self-isolate after she showed symptoms of the virus.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme earlier, Mr Hancock said it is unclear whether he is now immune to Covid-19.
“I took advice on that and the advice is it’s highly likely that I am now immune, or have a very high level of immunity,” he said. “But it’s not certain.”
He said there was a “stream of work under way” looking at immunity and the possibility of immunity certificates so those who have had Covid-19 can get back to normal.
Mr Hancock said the virus is expected to peak in the UK in the next few weeks, adding: “It’s very, very sensitive to how many people follow the social distancing guidelines.”
On Thursday, the Cabinet minister pledged England would hit 100,000 tests per day by the end of the month following widespread criticism of the Government’s testing strategy.
The UK already has antigen tests, which tell people whether they currently have Covid-19, and work is ongoing to validate antibody tests to see whether people have previously had the infection.
