University of Florida students take part in landmark COVID-19 vaccine study

Dr. Leon L. Haley Jr., CEO of UF Health Jacksonville and dean of the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville, was among the first in Florida to be vaccinated. (Image credit: UF Health) (WKMG 2020)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A group of Florida Gators will roll up their sleeves and get a COVID-19 vaccine as part of a landmark study.

The UF College of Medicine’s division of infectious diseases & global medicine is conducting the study with the help of about 1,000 students. The participants will receive the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, and will be followed and routinely screened for the virus for about four months.

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The ‘Prevent COVID U’ study will track these students and their ‘close contacts’ to track virus spread.

Eventually, the study will evolve to include students at about 20 other universities across the country, including Texas A&M and Northwestern.

For more information about the study, click here.


About the Author

Veronica Crespo writes for Local10.com and also oversees the Español section of the website. Born and raised in Miami, she graduated from the University of Miami, where she studied broadcast journalism and Spanish.

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