Here's how to sign up to test the first potential coronavirus vaccines in clinical trials

• Researchers are now building a registry of adults interested in volunteering for clinical trials to test coronavirus vaccine candidates.
• Signing up for the database takes about 10 minutes. You can do it online here.
• The US National Institutes of Health launched a trials network that includes more than 100 research centers across the country.
• This network will run massive trials that test vaccine candidates developed by Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax. Each study is expected to require 30,000 volunteers.
• Moderna is expected to start its late-stage study later this month.

The leading coronavirus vaccine candidates are weeks away from entering the pivotal phase of testing.

To determine if a vaccine actually prevents infection or disease, researchers will soon start recruiting tens of thousands of volunteers into clinical trials. The US National Institutes of Health is coordinating most of this research, launching this week the COVID Prevention Trials Network.

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Anyone over the age of 18 can now apply to volunteer here. These late-stage trials have yet to start, so the NIH is now building a registry of potential volunteers to contact when these studies launch. The NIH is expecting 1 million to 1.5 million people will complete the form.

Participants will fill out an online survey that takes about 10 minutes, answering basic questions about themselves, their occupation, their household, and their health conditions.

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The network, which includes research centers and hospitals across the country, will then send your information to a nearby study site. Researchers will contact you if they think you're a good fit for a certain study.

This trial network will operate late-stage studies that test vaccines from Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax. Each of these studies is expected to enroll as many as 30,000 volunteers.

Several of these programs are pursuing unprecedented timelines to develop a vaccine. Moderna and AstraZeneca have both said limited quantities of their shots could be ready this fall for emergency use, if the results are positive.

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The first late-stage trial, called a phase 3 study, will start in July to test Moderna's vaccine candidate. AstraZeneca is planning to start its US-based phase 3 trial in August. J&J and Novavax are both hoping to launch late-stage trials this fall.

Not all of the top vaccine candidates are participating in the trials network. Pfizer plans to launch its own phase 3 study in July for its coronavirus vaccine program.

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