MultiCare launches trial to test COVID booster shots with other vaccines

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MultiCare healthcare worker in Personal Protective Equipment. (Photo: MultiCare Indigo Urgent Care)

TACOMA, Wash. - Did you get the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine? MultiCare Health wants you to join a clinical trial to test the effects of booster shots with other vaccinations.

Specifically, MultiCare is looking to test the effectiveness of a COVID-19 booster shot along with either a shingles or influenza booster. The trial began Monday, and the health care organization is looking for 200 volunteers from the Puget Sound and Spokane area.

Volunteers must meet these requirements:

Must be 18 years or older
Have received both doses of the Moderna vaccine at least six months ago
Have not received any previous flu vaccine in the last six months
Have not had a previous shingles vaccine other than the live, attenuated vaccine
Are not pregnant or planning to become pregnant within the next two months

Volunteers under 50 will only be administered the influenza booster with the COVID vaccine. Those over 50 can received either the shingles or flu booster.

"As we move to a future where booster shots for our current COVID-19 vaccines are commonplace, it is likely that they will be given alongside other vaccines such as flu shots and the shingles vaccine at the same time," said Dr. Jonathan Staben, the trial’s principal investigator in the Inland Northwest region. "We need to continue to do research and study whether giving certain vaccines at the same time affects their performance."

Volunteers in the trial will need to make six or more in-person clinic visits and check in over phone twice over a 24-week period, MultiCare says. Blood will be drawn several times and volunteers will maintain journals monitoring how they feel.

"While billions of doses of different COVID-19 vaccines have been administered around the world, we are still working to understand the nuances of how long their protection lasts and how it differs from person to person," said Dr. Vinay Malhotra, the trial’s principal investigator for the Puget Sound region. "We also are studying what may be additional advantages of combining the COVID-19 vaccines with other vaccines, such as shingles and annual flu vaccines."

People interested in participating in the study can email research@multicare.org or call (253) 403-7249.

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