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COVID-19: Making a Difference, Together
Vanessa Clayton’s story about clinical trials participation differs from most, as she was first approached to participate by her husband, Reverend Elvin Clayton, the pastor of the Walters Memorial AME Zion Church in Bridgeport, Connecticut and Cultural Ambassador to clinical research at Yale. Like many people of color, Mrs. Clayton was worried about the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 virus on black and brown individuals. When her husband told her about the Phase 3 randomized and placebo-controlled trial looking to test the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of the SARS CoV 2 RNA vaccine against COVID-19, she did not immediately say yes. She decided to do her own homework to understand the research and also wanted to discuss it with family members in the health profession. Ultimately, after speaking to the study PI, Dr. Onyema Ogbuagu, and reviewing the informed consent, she decided to join her husband and hundreds of other Connecticut residents enrolling in the trial.