The U.S. spends $10 billion on COVID-19 vaccine trials, asks volunteers to submit DIY videos

COVID-19 vaccine trial volunteers received an unusual email (September 21, 2020): a request to film home videos for an upcoming recruitment campaign.

The email was sent to hundreds of thousands of volunteers by the COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN), the registry for Americans who want to participate in COVID-19 vaccine trials, which is part of Operation Warp Speed, the government’s $10 billion multi-agency effort to create a COVID-19 vaccine.

The email asks volunteers to “upload a brief video of yourself talking about why you filled out a survey and joined the registry,” which will be used in a national television and social media recruitment campaign that is “being put together by some of the best creative people in the country.”

A spokesperson said the network has 400,000 volunteers so far, but several million are needed, because not every volunteer will match the protocols of individual studies. Early rounds of vaccine trials this summer required 30,000 participants, and later-stage trials are much larger. CoVPN is currently running a polished campaign of national TV, radio, and digital ads, aimed at recruiting a variety of demographics for trials. That campaign was created by Sam Bonds Creative and Socialisssimo.

If you’d like to sign up to volunteer, here’s the link.