El Centro Regional Medical Center and UC San Diego researchers are collaborating on a second clinical trial to assess the safety , efficacy and immunogenicity of a vaccine to protect against the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Similar to the Moderna clinical trial that began in late July , the Phase III national AztraZeneca study will recruit up to 30,000 participants nationwide. The trial arm at UC San Diego will involve an estimated 1,6000 participants with particular outreach in underserved communities. The trial is sponsored by the National Institute of Health's COVID-19 Prevention Network and is part of Operation Warp Speed , a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with a goal to deliver 300 million doses of a safe , effective vaccine for COVID-19 by the end of this year or early 2021.