The trials will see up to 90 healthy people be deliberately exposed to Covid-19.
The UK plan to be first to run “human challenge” Covid trials, that will see healthy people be deliberately exposed to Covid.
The UK government signed a contract for the first human challenge studies to take place in England where volunteers are deliberately infected with the virus in a controlled setting, and some receive an experimental vaccine.
According to the BBC, the government is putting £33.6 million towards the work, which is the first of its kind.
The volunteers will be infected with the virus through the nose and monitored around the clock.
Those selected to take part will have the lowest risk of harm due to their young age and good health.
Speaking after the contract was signed, Alok Sharma, the UK’s Business Secretary said: “The funding announced today for these ground-breaking but carefully controlled studies marks an important next step in building on our understanding of the virus and accelerating the development of our most promising vaccines which will ultimately help in beginning our return to normal life.”
Speaking over the weekend, Irish epidemiologist professor Luke O’Neill said that he is confident a vaccine for Covid-19 will be available by the end of the year, saying: “The more we have the better”.
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