ATHENS, Ala. – An Alabama research facility is enrolling patients for a COVID-19 vaccine drug study being conducted in Athens and at its sister facility in Huntsville.

North Alabama Research Center LLC is seeking to enroll at least 300 participants, part of the 30,000 or so who will take part in the study across the country. Tonya Pryor, director of research at NARC, said she’s excited to finally have enrollment open, and people from all over the region have already begun contacting NARC to learn more.

“I have a physician in Mississippi who’s going to fly here to do it,” Pryor said. “I feel like so many people in North Alabama are reaching out because they just want to make a difference and be who we’re calling a ‘medical hero.'”

For many, it’s a chance to be among the first to get a vaccine against the potentially fatal virus — and to get it for free, too. In fact, participants are paid for their time in the study.

To Enroll

Call 256-771-9919, visit northalabamaresearch.com or visit North Alabama Research Center, LLC on Facebook for more information or to start the enrollment process. The enrollment period is expected to close in four to six weeks.

Some have voiced concern that getting the vaccine means being injected with the virus, either live or inactivated. Pryor said this is not the case with the COVID-19 vaccine in their study.

“It is not part of the live virus. It’s not a dead virus,” she said. “It’s a messenger-RNA vaccine that was created to replicate the outer part of the vaccine proteins, so that your body doesn’t allow the protein of the virus to attach to the cells in your body.”

This is also not the first time the vaccine has been tested. Pryor said the vaccine has been tested outside the United States, and after scientists realized the vaccine they were testing was working, the Food & Drug Administration fast-tracked it for a larger study in the United States.

She said getting to talk with patients about the vaccine and why they’re interested in participating in the study has been exciting, as many are also choosing to enroll to help prevent future generations from having to deal with the virus.

“One patient told me she is here for her grandchild, because she feels like it’s easy to do, to help like her grandmother or great-grandmother did when a vaccine was being developed years ago,” Pryor said.

All candidates for the study will receive a phone call to screen for disqualifying factors, including age or unmanaged chronic and autoimmune disorders. The first in-clinic appointment for those who qualify generally lasts around 90 minutes.

“When they come in, they’ll get information about their vaccination plan, what’s required of them … and just letting us know if there’s any symptoms after the vaccine,” Pryor said, adding that so far, none of the already enrolled participants have reported any.

The remainder of a participant’s in-clinic appointments will be much shorter, she said.

Jessica Barnett is a reporter for the Athens, Alabama News-Courier. Email Jessica@athensnews-courier.