British researchers are reportedly set to run clinical trials in which volunteers are deliberately infected with Covid-19 to test the effectiveness of potential vaccines, Chris Baynes reports.
So-called “challenge trials” are expected to begin in January at a quarantine facility in London, according to the Financial Times, which cited people involved in the project. About 2,000 participants are said to have signed up through a US-based advocacy group, 1Day Sooner.
The studies will reportedly be government-funded and led by Imperial College London researchers, although 1Day Sooner said it would also launch an appeal for public funding of a biocontainment facility big enough to quarantine 100 to 200 participants.
So-called ‘challenge trials’ will reportedly involve 2,000 participants at a qurantine facility in London