Sixty percent of the public surveyed say they believe a treatment or vaccine for COVID-19 will be developed in just under a year. And once developed, 64 percent said they thought it would be less than a year before the public could begin receiving a COVID-19 treatment or vaccine.

More North American respondents (21 percent) said it would take less than six months to develop a treatment or vaccine compared with European respondents (11 percent), according to a survey of 500 people conducted by the Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP).

Up to 55 percent said they were willing to participant in a COVID-19 trial. More Europeans (60 percent) said they are “somewhat” or “very willing” to participate in a COVID-19 trial compared with those from North America (48 percent). Approximately 46 percent of respondents who indicated they were “somewhat” or “very willing” to participate in a COVID-19 study said they wanted to participate to advance science, help others with COVID-19 and to help researchers find a treatment for the virus. Only 17 percent and 29 percent of respondents said they wanted to participate to receive free medication or to receive money, respectively.

Of the 228 respondents who indicated they were “not sure,” “not at all” or “not very” willing to participate in a COVID-19 trial, 45 percent said they would not participate because they do not want to take a chance on their health.

The survey also found that 90 percent of 38 trial volunteers for non-COVID-19 studies are currently experiencing changes in their trial because of the pandemic. Almost half (42 percent) of these respondents said their trial has shifted to the use of telemedicine to avoid in-person site visits, and 21 percent said their study medication is now being sent to their home. Approximately 26 percent of respondents said their clinical study has been suspended altogether, whereas 11 percent indicated their number of in-person clinic visits have been reduced.

More people who previously experienced symptoms related to COVID-19 were aware of a specific COVID-19 trial (58 percent) compared with respondents who had no previous virus symptoms (34 percent). A higher proportion of respondents who had been tested for the virus were also more aware of a specific trial (62 percent) vs. those who had not been tested (34 percent).

In terms of trust, 49 percent of respondents said they held “some” trust in research centers and clinics, compared with only 29 percent of respondents who said they held “a lot” of trust in these centers. Around 50 percent said they held “some” trust in regulatory authorities, such as the FDA, and 47 percent of respondents said they held “some” trust in pharmaceutical companies. Only 17 percent of respondents reported having “a lot” of trust in pharmaceutical companies.

Approximately 89 percent of 474 respondents to the CISCRP survey said they understood clinical research “somewhat” or “very” well, and approximately 58 percent of the general public are not aware of specific clinical trials for COVID-19, while awareness of specific COVID-19 trials that were in the recruitment phase was greater among respondents who had experience participating in clinical trials (62 percent) compared with individuals who had no history of participating in a study (31 percent).

Respondents who said they were aware of a specific trial indicated they had heard about it on the TV, radio, newspaper or public transportation ads (27 percent).

To see the full results of the survey, click here: https://bit.ly/2TRIG31.