Covid-19 Human Challenge Study: The World’s First Study Started in the UK

London The hospital is to host the world’s first healthy “Human Challenge Trial” volunteer Up to £ 4,500 will be paid for intentional infection COVID, Published today.

Trial will start within 1 month Royal free,so Hamstead, There is a specialized infectious disease unit.

A total of 90 volunteers between the ages of 18 and 30 have no medical history or symptoms. COVID-19, Underlying health conditions and known harmful risk factors for Covid-19 such as diabetes and overweight are not adopted.

Volunteers will be quarantined for two days after arriving at Royalty Free and will be provided with a private room on the 11th floor dedicated to “great views of London”.

They then receive the smallest possible Covid and spend the next 14 days in the hospital, being monitored and undergoing a series of tests.

If infectious, you will be allowed to return home after 17 days and will be required to attend a follow-up check for the next 12 months as a condition of receiving a final installment payment of £ 4,500 “compensation”.

According to researchers, the initial payment was £ 88 a day.

With £ 33.6 million in government support, the trial speeds up disease and vaccine research because volunteers do not have to be “naturally” infected in the community. Such trials have already been used to develop treatments for influenza, malaria, typhoid fever, norovirus, and common colds.

First part of Survey Establishing the minimum amount of Covid virus needed to cause infection in healthy participants.

This is called a viral characterization study, and the protocol is now ethically approved by the Health Research Authority and can move on.

Applications for the second half of the study, which may involve the administration of new study vaccines or viral variants to volunteers, have not yet been submitted.

Researchers today defended the decision to use the original version of covid, saying it was safer and shared 99.9% of its genetic background with the new variant.

Healthcare professionals and scientists carefully monitor the effects of the virus on volunteers and take care of them 24 hours a day. People who get sick are given remdesivir, even if their effectiveness has not been fully established in the trial.

The first step is to vaccinate the volunteers and then expose them to Covid through a small amount of liquid through their nostrils as they lie on their backs.

Thousands of people have been registered since the test was announced last year, but not all of the first 90 volunteers have been selected.

Volunteers will be provided with a “scratch and sniff” card to test if covid is affecting their senses, and an iPad to assess brain function through cognitive tests.

The virus used in this study was created by a team at the Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital in collaboration with clinical trial firm hVIVO with the support of virologists at Imperial College London.

The Royal Free Hospital’s specialist and safe clinical research facility in London is specially designed to contain the virus. Highly trained doctors and scientists will carefully examine how the virus behaves in the body and wait to ensure the safety of volunteers.

This study seeks to establish the optimal dosing interval (the optimal gap between doses for maximum protection) and at what stage people need to be re-vaccinated or receive annual booster immunization.

There is a recognition that Pfizer and Oxford / AstraZeneca’s current “first generation” vaccines will need to be upgraded or replaced as covid evolves over the next few years.

Clive Dix, Interim Chair of the Vaccine Task Force, said: “Although we have a large number of safe and effective vaccines in the UK, it is imperative to continue developing new vaccines and treatments for Covid-19. These studies show how the virus works. We hope to provide our own insights and help us understand which promising vaccines offer the best chances to prevent infection. “

Dr. Chris Chiu, Principal Investigator at Imperial College London, said: Our ultimate goal is to establish which vaccines and treatments are most effective in overcoming this disease, but we need volunteers to support us in this task. “

Researchers are also working closely with the Royal Free Hospital and the North Central London Adult Critical Care Network to ensure that the study does not affect the NHS’s ability to care for patients during a pandemic. Research cannot begin without their anticipation.

Executive Director Kwasi Kwaten said: vaccine In development, we want to find the best and most effective vaccine for long-term use.These Human Challenge studies are conducted here in the UK and will help accelerate the knowledge of scientists. Coronavirus It can affect people and ultimately accelerate the rapid development of vaccines. “

Dr. Andrew Catchpole, Chief Scientific Officer at hVIVO, said: , What type of immune response is needed to provide protection from reinfection, etc. “