Norovirus, commonly known as the winter sickness bug, is one of the most common stomach bugs in the UK. It can spread easily and most cases are often in care homes and schools. The Norovirus stomach bug can cause many unpleasant symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Vulnerable people, such as adults older than age 60, and people with underlying health conditions, are at greater risk for serious symptoms of norovirus, which may require medical attention.

The Nova 301 Trial is a Phase 3 clinical trial, run by Moderna, looking at the efficacy of their vaccine to protect people against the symptoms of Norovirus. As it is a phase 3 trial, it is in the final stages of the trial process before the investigational vaccine can be made available for public use (after approval from the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency). Phase 3 trials like this one evaluate the investigational vaccine in a large group of people.

As there isn’t a current Norovirus vaccine available for comparison, the vaccine will be trialled against a placebo, to allow the researchers  to compare the benefits between havening the vaccine or not. The trial is a double blinded trial meaning neither the participant or the nursing team will know which one the participants receive.

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