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| Coronavirus: Call to infect volunteers in Covid-19 vaccine hunt | Coronavirus: Call to infect volunteers in Covid-19 vaccine hunt |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Nobel laureates are among scientists calling for volunteers to be exposed to coronavirus after receiving a vaccine to see if it offers protection. | Nobel laureates are among scientists calling for volunteers to be exposed to coronavirus after receiving a vaccine to see if it offers protection. |
| In an open letter to the head of the US National Institutes of Health, the group says so-called "challenge trials" could accelerate vaccine development. | In an open letter to the head of the US National Institutes of Health, the group says so-called "challenge trials" could accelerate vaccine development. |
| The Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine programme's director said such studies should be "feasible and informative". | The Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine programme's director said such studies should be "feasible and informative". |
| There are now 23 coronavirus vaccines in clinical trials around the world. | There are now 23 coronavirus vaccines in clinical trials around the world. |
| The only way we will know if any of them works is if enough volunteers are subsequently exposed to coronavirus in their daily life and do not get infected. | |
| That could take well into next year, given that many studies are being conducted in countries where infection rates are falling. | That could take well into next year, given that many studies are being conducted in countries where infection rates are falling. |
| The organisation 1 Day Sooner, consisting of more than 100 prominent figures including 15 Nobel laureates, argues this should not be left to chance. | The organisation 1 Day Sooner, consisting of more than 100 prominent figures including 15 Nobel laureates, argues this should not be left to chance. |
| It wants healthy young volunteers to be deliberately given coronavirus after receiving the vaccine, arguing that the risks to their health would be low, but the potential benefits to society enormous. | It wants healthy young volunteers to be deliberately given coronavirus after receiving the vaccine, arguing that the risks to their health would be low, but the potential benefits to society enormous. |
| The letter states: "If challenge trials can safely and effectively speed the vaccine development process, then there is a formidable presumption in favour of their use, which would require a very compelling ethical justification to overcome." | The letter states: "If challenge trials can safely and effectively speed the vaccine development process, then there is a formidable presumption in favour of their use, which would require a very compelling ethical justification to overcome." |
| The letter supporting challenge trials has been signed by Professor Adrian Hill, the director of the Jenner Institute at Oxford University which has one of the leading prototype coronavirus vaccines. | The letter supporting challenge trials has been signed by Professor Adrian Hill, the director of the Jenner Institute at Oxford University which has one of the leading prototype coronavirus vaccines. |
| He said human challenge studies could happen "in the coming months". | He said human challenge studies could happen "in the coming months". |
| Dr Francis Collins, director of the NIH, has said Covid-19 challenge trials are "on the table for discussion - not on the table to start designing a plan". | Dr Francis Collins, director of the NIH, has said Covid-19 challenge trials are "on the table for discussion - not on the table to start designing a plan". |