Research center using babies and children for experimental H1N1 Vaccine

The Warwick Beacon reports Omega Medical Research, a privately owned clinical research center providing clinical research services to the pharmaceutical industry, will "study three different vaccines on three different age groups. Roughly 300 adults will receive an injectable vaccine. The study will also include about 40-60 children between the ages of 2 and 17 and 40 infants and toddlers between six to 35 months old. Some of the patients in the younger age groups will get injections, while others will receive nasal sprays."

Patients will receive compensation for their participation in the study. Adult participants will receive up to $540, children up to $350 and the youngest group, up to $520.

According to their website, Omega Medical Research claims over 6,000 patients have been registered as study subjects for various trials. "Additionally, Dr. Fried [OMR's Medical Director and Principal Investigator] enjoys his own private practice of over 12,000 primary care patients, as well as being part of a regional primary care practice of 35 physicians who, collectively, have well over 200,000 patients. As such, recruitment is a streamlined process, utilizing an ever-expanding database of potential subjects."

So Dr. Fried and his clinic volunteer the services of his patients and the patients of 35 other doctors as guinea pigs to the drug companies for a fee.

“It’s a unique opportunity for the residents of Rhode Island to get vaccinated,” says Lynn Haughey, a nurse practitioner and co-owner of the Omega Medical Research center. Haughey claims that during the study participants will not actually be exposed to live novel H1N1 viruses, but thy will be exposed to their antigens.

Rhode Island Department of Health spokeswoman Annemarie Beardsworth said the clinical vaccine will likely be produced by one of five pharmaceutical companies: SanofiPasteur, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, CSL Biotherapies or MedImmune. So, if a manufacturer experiences a mishap while making a vaccine, there will be others working toward the same goal.