More than 2,500 people in Lincolnshire have volunteered to take part in Covid-19 vaccines research

More than 2,500 people in Lincolnshire have put themselves forward to take part in Covid-19 vaccine research.

The group includes 605 people in South Kesteven signing up to the 230,000-strong NHS Covid-19 vaccine registry.

The registry allows people to participate in research to test vaccines being developed to tackle the virus.

Once a suitable study becomes available, people who have signed up will be contacted by researchers to invite them to take part.

A number of new vaccine trials for Covid-19 are expected to launch in the coming weeks, adding to those already underway across the UK.

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is working with the NHS and other partners to deliver research that will help identify vaccines to protect against coronavirus.

Professor David Rowbotham, clinical director for the NIHR Clinical Research Network East Midlands said: “We’re incredibly grateful to everyone in Lincolnshire who has signed up to take part in Covid-19 vaccine research.

"These research studies are a vital part of our response to the pandemic, and we are proud that so many people across the East Midlands are putting themselves forward as volunteers.

“It’s important that we involve people from all areas and backgrounds in this research, so I would urge everyone to sign up to the NHS Covid-19 vaccine registry. Everyone involved in coronavirus research is making an enormous contribution and we are proud that our region is at the very heart of the research response to the disease.”

The number of volunteers broken down into local authorities is:

• South Kesteven: 605
• East Lindsey: 400
• Lincoln: 280
• North Kesteven: 470
• South Holland: 265
• West Lindsey: 385
• Boston: 135
• Total: 2540