The participants receive NIS 495 for each visit to the Israeli Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) in Ness Ziona, adding up to as much as NIS 6,435 per participant in some groups if they visit 13 times.
All those participating are required to undergo about 12 visits during the trial period and are reimbursed for their participation. The reimbursement is calculated according to the average wage in the economy to equal a full working day, plus travel, parking and meals.
IIBR recently launched Phase II of its clinical trial for its vaccine candidate, known as Brilife. While this phase usually lasts 12 to 14 months, the institute is expected to request that it be shortened to just a few months.
The trials will then proceed to Phase III, in which around 30,000 participants will be used to test the effectiveness of the vaccine, both inside and outside of Israel.This phase is expected to begin in the spring.
An issue that may arise is that participants who received the placebo and are eligible to receive the Pfizer or Moderna vaccination will be allowed to do so, which may impact efforts to judge the effectiveness of the vaccine as the trials may lack a proper control group.
Participants who wish to check whether they were in the placebo group will be allowed to do so and request approved vaccines after initial data is collected, a top official for Samson Assuta Ashdod Medical Center said earlier this month.