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British scientists are preparing to launch a controversial experiment in which they will infect healthy volunteers with the new coronavirus to study the disease in hopes of speeding up vaccine development, the Associated Press and BTA reported.
This approach is risky, but according to its proponents, it can produce results much faster than standard research, which is waiting to determine whether volunteers trying the experimental treatment will get sick. The government is preparing to invest £ 33.6 million in the study.
Imperial College London said the study would involve healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 and 30.
“Deliberate infection of volunteers with a known human pathogen is never taken lightly,” said Peter Openhaws, who was involved in the study. “But these studies provide extremely rich information about the disease, even for a well-studied disease like Kovid-19.”
In the first phase of the study, the researchers set out to determine the minimum level of exposure to the virus necessary to develop the disease. They will then use the same model to study how potential vaccines work in the body, its immune response, and possible therapies.
British Vaccine Task Force Chair Kate Bingham said the study would improve our understanding of the virus and help make decisions for future research. “There is still a lot to learn in terms of immunity, duration of the vaccine’s protective function and reinfection,” he said in a statement.
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