LONDON (Reuters) – Britain on Wednesday became the first country in the world to allow volunteers to be exposed to the COVID-19 virus to advance medical research on the pandemic.
The government said the trial, which begins within a month, exposed up to 90 healthy volunteers aged 18-30 to COVID-19 in a safe and controlled environment.
To make the trial as safe as possible, the version of the virus that has been spreading in England since March 2020 will be used as one of the new variants.
The study will initially try to determine the smallest amount of viruses needed to cause infection. Volunteers can then get candidates for vaccinations before being exposed to the virus.
The volunteers will be compensated for participation.
British Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the study would help find the best and most effective vaccines for the longer term.
“These human challenge studies will take place here in the UK and will help accelerate scientists’ knowledge of how coronavirus affects humans and ultimately promote the rapid development of vaccines,” he said.
The government’s vaccination task force, Imperial College London, the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and the clinical company hVIVO, which pioneered viral human challenge models, are working on the study.
Reporting by Paul Sandle, Editing by Sarah Young and Christian Schmollinger