Prognosis
U.K. Moves Closer to Infect Healthy People With Covid to Aid Vaccine Efforts
- Challenge trials have fueled debate over risks and benefits
- Surging infections underscore urgency of speedy study results
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Alex Greer says he’d rather put himself directly in the path of the coronavirus than get blindsided by the disease after an evening at the pub or with friends. It’s a scenario that could soon become a reality.
Britain is moving closer to carrying out studies that would intentionally infect healthy people with the virus to help researchers in their quest for Covid-19 vaccines, and thousands of volunteers like Greer, a chemistry student at Durham University in northeast England, are ready to go. Open Orphan Plc, parent of human challenge trial specialist hVivo, has said it’s in talks with potential customers including the U.K. to conduct tests of Covid shots.