NORTHERN Ireland has been chosen as one of the regions to take part in a major UK trial of a potential vaccine to help in the fight against Covid-19.
Health officials are seeking 350 volunteers from the north for the trial, which is expected to start by the end of the week.
Health minister Robin Swann said the importance of finding a vaccine "cannot be overstated".
"Currently there are over 30 vaccine trials taking place around the world in an effort to discover as soon as possible which will be safe and effective," he said.
"It is vital that Northern Ireland joins this important worldwide effort."
A Vaccine Research Delivery Group led by the HSC research and development division of the Public Health Agency has been set up to deliver Covid-19 vaccine trials in Northern Ireland.
The trial is being run by Novavax and will take place in sites in the north and Britain.
It is anticipated that the first participants will be recruited in Northern Ireland at the start of October.
Dr Janice Bailie, assistant director of the research and development division, said: "Covid-19 vaccine trials are essential to identify which vaccines are both safe and effective, so that wide-scale vaccination can start as soon as possible.
"There are different types of vaccines, and we don't know which one will work best to protect people from catching Covid-19.
"It might be that different vaccines are needed for different groups of people, and it's only through vaccine trials we will find this out."
Up to 350 participants in Northern Ireland will be recruited from the UK Vaccine Registry, which was launched in July.
Potential participants who have signed up to the registry will be invited to undergo an assessment to determine whether they are eligible.
The study aims to recruit adults from across society, especially those more likely to benefit from a vaccine, including those over the age of 65, those from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds (BAME), and those who have face-to-face contact with the public at work.
Those interested in participating in the Northern Ireland trial can sign up at nhs.uk/researchcontact.
Another 187 new coronavirus cases were recorded by Stormont's Department of Health yesterday, bringing the total number in Northern Ireland to 10,729.
No further deaths were recorded, meaning the north's death toll remains at 578.
In the Republic, 430 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded, bringing the total to 34,990. The death toll remained at 1,802.
The south's health minister Stephen Donnelly said he and the acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn are "cautiously optimistic" that tighter restrictions in Dublin are working.
Dublin and Donegal are currently subject to Level 3 restrictions under the Irish government's Covid-19 five-tier response plan, with the rest of the Republic at Level 2.
Dublin's 14-day incidence rate is 147 positive cases per 100,000 population, while its seven-day rate is 78.
Mr Donnelly told RTÉ: "What we want to start seeing is the seven-day rate becomes less than half of the 14-day rate and that shows that it is plateauing."
