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Why is UK inviting volunteers to be infected with the coronavirus?

The United Kingdom will again make history in the fight against coronavirus as the country gets ready to infect healthy, young volunteers with coronavirus in the world’s first COVID-19 “human challenge” study.

The historic human challenge is set to begin in the next few weeks and will involve up to 90 carefully-selected, healthy adults — between ages 18 and 30 — being exposed to the virus in “a safe and controlled environment”. 

Young people are therefore being invited to sign up as volunteers.

According to a statement from the UK government: “This initial study will also help doctors understand how the immune system reacts to coronavirus and identify factors that influence how the virus is transmitted, including how a person who is infected with COVID-19 transmits infectious virus particles into the environment.”

Scientists are also hoping to pick up clues that can lead to the development of more vaccines to fight the virus.

The UK was the first country to issue COVID-19 doses, and up to last week, some 15 million doses were issued.

Why young people?

Scientists say young adults were chosen for the study because the strain of the virus that will be used is of low risk in young healthy adults. 

That strain is the one that has been circulating in the UK since March 2020.

After being infected with the virus, medics and scientists will closely monitor the effect on volunteers and will be on hand to look after them 24 hours a day.

The UK government has put aside some £33.6 million for the study. A BBC report says “volunteers will be compensated for their time, to the tune of around £4,500 over the course of a year, which will include follow-up tests”.

Once this initial infection has taken place, vaccines that have been approved will be given to small numbers of volunteers, helping to identify the most effective vaccines and accelerate their development.

However, this phase of the study hasn’t been approved by the UK ethics board.

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21 Comments

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  1. Hmm says:

    The experiment with humans continue…

    Like 14
    Dislike 2
    • Yup says:

      Testing has begun here too.

      U.K. has been secretly testing their new vaccines. It’s in the bottled water. Be careful what you buy.

      Like 3
      Dislike 2
  2. How now says:

    I hope that we are not an unknowing part of this experiment!

    Like 12
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  3. Should says:

    I think all the volunteers should be Belongers just in case the “safe” study goes bad.

    Like 7
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    • NeverAgainNever says:

      All you ain’t easy, man. Belongers are wiser. We are protected by the Melanin in our skin, the same Carbon that made the Universe. You could try from now to Neverery, you shall not kill us out.
      But wait till the Ozone layer comes off the sun. All pale-skinned woodslaves, going to get fry. Your b**ger, yo!

      Like 3
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  4. Black Nationalist says:

    CHRIST! You can’t make this up! But they still unleashing all kind of vaccine. The CLEARS going be the end of you all lol. Anybody that follow these people lead deserve what they get.

    Like 8
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  5. Mad man says:

    I reallly think UK Prime Minister is a mad man…Unfit to be Prime Minister, Illusional, Worst than Trump and getting away with things Trump didn’t get away with, one of the reasons been the strangle hold he has on Britain media..

    Like 6
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  6. Teacher says:

    So what I am reading is that there about to study the virus after give people a vaccine for a virus that there know nothing about.
    Talk about putting the cart in front the horse ?.
    And when we done we must trust them because there knows what is best for us.

    Like 9
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  7. Really? says:

    Why don’t they use people who are already infected with the virus? This is literally play with people lives? Suppose someone dies?

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  8. informed says:

    in the history of man kind there has been vaccines for all kinds of desires. Measles, Mumps and Rubella the MMR caching is given to every child as I was a kid and also the Polio Vaccine. The Polio Vaccine is not required anymore as its irradiated the disease. This is great news are it WORKS. They have been through a test phase, Found the best cause of action and selected the mixture of drugs to combat this.
    Same with COVID-19 vaccinations. They have been trough a test phase and then decided to roll out the vaccines to curve the COVID deaths. It was standing at 3% fatality rate but with the Vaccine this drops the chances of the effects of the disease. We may catch covid but there will be less chance of death as the body knows how to fight it.
    It a tried and proven method, It works and its improved. The Annual Cold Vaccine is changed annually to catch the new strains and people will be tested and monitored to get the results right.
    There is no conspiracy in this, they are trying to help everyone on the planet.

    Like 13
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    • Think says:

      Yeah, be informed – VAERS: 929 Dead from Moderna Pfizer jabs in the US. UK Data: 70,314 Serious Reactions, 173 Dead from Pfizer BioNTech, 73,883 Serious Reactions, 150 Dead from AstraZeneca.

      A senior scientist at Oxford University has warned the global rollout of Covid-19 vaccines will prompt the virus to mutate, driven by “immunological selection” rather than the adaptations we have seen so far.

      Speaking to the UK Commons Science and Technology Committee on Wednesday 17th February, Professor Sir John Bell, Oxford’s regius professor of medicine, said that the Covid-19 mutations observed so far are a result of the virus adapting to be more effective in its new hosts, humans.

      “Most of the variants we have seen so far represent that kind of adaptation to a new species; it’s a bit like moving into a new apartment, you are shuffling the sofa around and making sure the TV is in the right place,” Bell told colleagues and lawmakers.

      “What we will see between now and the end of the year is a number of variants which are driven by immunological selection, largely by the vaccines, and that will add another layer of complexity.”

      Bell added that a number of variants that currently exist have already demonstrated some “quite profound resistance” to existing immunity, either from previous Covid-19 infection or vaccines, citing people who have been reinfected by the Brazilian and South African strains.

      Like 3
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      • @think says:

        Get your facts straight:
        VAERS – FDA requires vaccination providers to report any death after COVID-19 vaccination to VAERS.
        Reports of death to VAERS following vaccination do not necessarily mean the vaccine caused the death.
        CDC follows up on any report of death to request additional information and learn more about what occurred and to determine whether the death was a result of the vaccine or unrelated.
        To date, VAERS has not detected patterns in cause of death that would indicate a safety problem with COVID-19 vaccines.

        are the numbers you have touted (from tens of millions of shots given) different to other medicines and vaccines?

        Like 3
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        • OMG says:

          So apart from taking part in the worlds biggest medical experiment, the vaccines will produce mutations that could potentially be worse than the original virus. Only God can save us now..

  9. @ MAD MAN says:

    A MAD MAN JUST LIKE THE ONE IN THE BVI.

    Like 6
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  10. @@madman says:

    At least he not experiencing on his people…speak volume and truth of the difference in comparison of your lmaooo..that u all nature…sad

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  11. 123 says:

    And this is certainly NOT a new article. Just more stirring the pot. When will people keep their opinions to themselves.

  12. Depressed says:

    The comments so far show the high levels of ignorance on the subjects of Covid-19, epidemiology and the UK socitey. This is so depressing. There is loads of risk around the virus. The fact that healthy young (often WHITE) Brits are willing to take part in trials is to be lauded, not heckled.

    Like 2
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  13. Asking says:

    So wait. You issue a vaccine and now you want to figure out how it works on young people. Folks what is really going on …. can someone truly help me understand.

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