The Oxford Vaccine Group is currently looking to enrol healthy Caucasian children aged 8 to 12 weeks to a study of how children’s immune system responds to the new meningococcal B (MenB) vaccine and to what extent this is affected by different genes. All children enrolled in the study would receive, in addition to their routine immunisations, an immunisation course against meningococcal B, which is not currently available to children in the UK.
We intend to see which genes are important for making a good response to the Men B vaccine by looking at what genes are ‘switched on’ and ‘switched off’ after vaccination. We would also look to see whether the genes that are associated with side effects such as fever are the same ones that are needed for the vaccine to generate a good immune response. This information will help in the design of vaccines that are more effective and have fewer side effects in the future.
The study is open for healthy children aged 8 to 12 weeks, of Caucasian origin, who are yet to receive their vaccinations. The study will consist of 8 to 11 visits over an 11 month period, during which time your child would have 3 doses of the Men B vaccine in addition to their routine vaccines. They would also have 6 blood tests and 2 throat swabs. All study visits would be conducted at your home at a time convenient to you.
For further information on participating in the study, visit the study page.