The Veterans Administration’s (VA) https://www.va.gov Office of Research & Development with the support and cooperation of many internal VA and external partners, has undertaken a large range of studies and clinical trials to support and advance VA’s knowledge of COVID-19.
As of August 2020, some 50 VA medical centers are participating in clinical trials for COVID-19. For example, VA CURES which stands for Coronavirus Research and Efficacy Studies launched in August 2020, will enable a series of clinical trials across the VA. VA CURES will offer a standardized framework for studies on many potential treatments for COVID-19 without the need for a new study design and protocol each time.
The first study involves some 700 veterans who are hospitalized for COVID-19. The study will examine the effects of convalescent plasma, provide faster access to potential COVID-19 treatments, and test their effectiveness.
The VA is part of two major national research initiatives on COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics to include Operation Warp Speed (OWS) and the Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) initiative.
As of mid-August 2020, a number of VA Medical Centers (VAMC) are preparing to become activated as vanguard sites in ACTIV-3 a trial of a monoclonal antibody. Another VAMC is going to take part in an OWS vaccine trials with additional VA sites being recruited for other OWS and ACTIV trials.
The VA is also taking part in a number of industry sponsored studies for promising medications for COVID-19. These include studies of the drug tocilizumab with Hoffman-La Roche, and sarilumab with Regenerson. Both drugs are used in arthritis care to block an inflammatory protein known as IL-6.
In addition to studying how to prevent or treat COVID-19, the VA is examining the mental health impact of the pandemic. As of mid-August 2020, VA has funded 18 studies looking at mental health and effects from COVID-19. Some are new projects focused solely on COVID-19, but others are supplements to existing projects that are broader in scope.
Go to https://www.research.va.gov for more information on the VA’s research program.