Volunteering for the Coronavirus Clinical Trial Takes a New Turn
With the coronavirus pandemic lingering on, researchers in the UK are coming up with new ways for clinical trials. A first in covid trials, healthy young adults volunteering for the human challenge trials will get infected in a controlled environment.The aim is to observe and study how people get affected by the virus, how the complications start to appear, how it spreads, etc. Researchers expect the findings to speed up the coronavirus vaccine efforts and lead them to better remedies.
Isn't Coronavirus Exposure Dangerous?
Coronavirus exposure is dangerous even if it's in a controlled environment. However, as doctors and researchers would be monitoring the volunteers all the time, it won't be as risky as it sounds.
There are also a set of volunteering requirements to ensure a smooth clinical trial. A person needs to be aged between 18 to 30 years to be a covid volunteer in the human trials. They also need to be in great shape without any underlying health issues. The compensation is substantial, while the potential humanitarian benefits are limitless.
How The Trials Will Be Conducted?
The first covid human trial will be beginning in the UK with up to 90 individuals. The volunteers would get infected by the coronavirus with a dropper or a nasal spray. The exposed person has to be in biocontainment for 17 days to stop the spread.
Over this period, researchers would keep a close eye on the volunteers to understand how the body reacts to the infection. They also hope to understand how the virus transmits from person to person and when it causes infection.
If everything goes well, these findings of clinical trials can have revolutionary effects on coronavirus vaccine efforts. It may also facilitate a new volunteering method to mitigate future viruses.