2,500 people will deliberately be infected with COVID19 for challenge trial

[TaylorSwift 162,746]

Around 2,500 Britons will deliberately be infected with coronavirus in the world's first 'human challenge trials' run by Imperial College, which will begin next month in a bid to accelerate research on the pandemic.

Volunteers will be paid up to £4,000 for two-to-three week stay.

In the initial study, which was announced by the Government in October, around 90 volunteers under the age of 30 will receive a dose of an experimental nasal vaccine before being deliberately infected with Covid-19.

The volunteers are aged between 18 and 30 - the group thought to be least at risk from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. 

Volunteers will stay at a specialist diseases clinic at the Royal Free Hospital where their symptoms will be closely monitored and will also be expected to attend follow-up appointments for around a year.

source

[Guest]

What happens if they die?

[TaylorSwift 162,746]

4 minutes ago, KanyeWest said:

What happens if they die?

then they will be dead in the name of science

[Helxig 45,437]

9 minutes ago, KanyeWest said:

What happens if they die?

I think the point is that they chose the least at-risk group, so if they end up with a bad case they will likely survive. I'm sure they will also be given top-notch treatment because they're part of the study. And also the vaccine is suppose to reduce symptoms more than prevent any infection, so I guess the test is to see to what degree they actually develop symptoms/how fast they fight it off/a whole bunch of other factors. I think the chances of them actually getting as far as dying are quite low. and if it does happen, they signed up for a good cause knowing the risks and died nobly I guess  

[Suspiria 10,683]

This title is unbelievably clickbaity(I know it wasn't OP who wrote it, it was the newspaper). It's literally what happens for any drug trial.

[alsemanche 97,820]

Isn't that like... the process for any human trial for any drug or vaccine? 

[MadreMonster 2,584]

45 minutes ago, KanyeWest said:

What happens if they die?

I’m sure the volunteers have to sign many legal forms in case something like this happens. 

[Lona Delery 7,227]

50 minutes ago, alsemanche said:

Isn't that like... the process for any human trial for any drug or vaccine? 

yes, the way OP is framing this is very questionable  

[bionic 50,111]

The Nazis did this with “volunteers”. 80 years later and nothing has changed 

[uo111 5,283]

2 hours ago, Suspiria said:

This title is unbelievably clickbaity(I know it wasn't OP who wrote it, it was the newspaper). It's literally what happens for any drug trial.

No it’s literally not. People are never ever purposely infected with an infectious disease. This is norm breaking and ethically questionable at best, completely and utterly unethical at worst.

[Dominic 11,922]

45 minutes ago, bionic said:

The Nazis did this with “volunteers”. 80 years later and nothing has changed 

Human challenge trials have been extremely informative in the past and have helped a lot. The Nazi comparison is just daft. 

[Midnightrush891 727]

No Mam’, no ham, no turkey! 

[Swando 300]

54 minutes ago, bionic said:

The Nazis did this with “volunteers”. 80 years later and nothing has changed 

That is quite a distasteful take. 

[gypsy101 5,453]

2 hours ago, MadreMonster said:

I’m sure the volunteers have to sign many legal forms in case something like this happens. 

[Dominic 11,922]

32 minutes ago, uo111 said:

No it’s literally not. People are never ever purposely infected with an infectious disease. This is norm breaking and ethically questionable at best, completely and utterly unethical at worst.

Yes they are. Its happened a lot and has gave great insight. Its definitely ethically questionable but a lot of scientists, governments and universities are on-board with HCT. I mean there are literally companies designed specifically for this...