By Aaron Thomas, WRAL reporter, & Matthew Burns, WRAL.com senior producer/politics editor

Chapel Hill, N.C. — As the fight against COVID-19 wages on, UNC Health is looking for 500 volunteers to take part in a coronavirus vaccine study.

UNC Health is one of nearly 90 vaccine test sites around the country conducting Phase III clinical trials to evaluate the effectiveness of a vaccine candidate developed by Moderna.

Susan Pederson, clinical director at UNC Health’s Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, is leading COVID-19 research there. She says it’s critical that trial participants reflect the people most impacted or at-risk for the virus in North Carolina.

“We most are interested in finding people of color who will be at risk because of COVID-19, people with underlying health conditions that also make them at risk for adverse outcomes,” Pederson said.

“Those who are at risk have a chance to benefit from the vaccine, if it’s effective, and [it can] also benefit those around them, including their families and their larger communities,” said Dr. Cindy Gay, the principle investigator for UNC Health’s trial.

Gay acknowledged that minority communities aren’t always trustful of medical research, and people might not want to sign up for the clinical trial. But she said it’s important for them to trust that UNC Health, which already works with Black and Latino communities statewide, has their best interest at heart.

“We hear, still hear, the words ‘guinea pig’ thrown around a lot within research, but that’s not why we’re appealing to them,” she said. “We want them to benefit from the advances we’re making in vaccines and treatment and be a part of that.”

Participation in the study has no effect on people’s everyday lives, Gay said, noting they don’t have to quarantine or separate themselves from their families or co-workers.

The only people who cannot take part are those who have already been infected by the virus, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and people with acute illnesses or weakened immune systems, researchers said.

“Really, the risk comes down to people who are in contact with other people on a frequent basis for whatever reason. Those are the individuals seems who seem to be at the highest risk,” Gay said. “So, we are trying to prioritize [them in the study] both for their benefit, if the vaccine is effective, and so we can get an answer as soon as possible about whether the vaccine is effective.”

People can volunteer for the trials online.

“We’re not going to get back to normal if we’re all spectators and there’s not folks who are willing to step up, including ourselves,” said Dr. David Wohl, an infectious disease specialist at UNC. “It’s really important for us to work as a community and individually to protect ourselves, protect our neighbors, protect our loved ones, and we’re not going to be able to do that unless some of us step up and say, ‘You know, I’m willing to be involved in that study. I think it’s important to find this.'”