– The UK is conducting the world’s first in vivo human experiment in which healthy adults are deliberately exposed to the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19).
The Guardian reported on the 17th (local time) that the UK’s Corporate Energy Industry Strategy Department (BEIS) approved an experiment that intentionally exposed the Corona 19 virus to applicants and followed up.
The goal of this study is to precisely understand the process by which the virus infects humans and the immune response to Corona 19.
According to The Guardian, 90 men and women aged 18-30 are participating in the experiment. The government is planning to start the exam within a month as soon as the recruitment of participants is completed.
Participants will be quarantined at the Royal Hospital in London for at least two weeks, have their health checked, and will be put into the experiment as soon as they pass.
The researchers put the minimum amount of virus that will infect the human body in a spray and spray it around the participants’ noses before monitoring.
The researchers also administered a clinically tested COVID-19 vaccine to some to select the most effective vaccine.
All processes are conducted in quarantine for 17 days.
BEIS said, “Participants must get a negative test after the experiment is over before they can return home,” said BEIS. “The researchers will observe them for at least one year.”
Participants are rewarded with a reward of £4,500 per person (approximately KRW 6.88 million).
The researchers plan to study the immune response to infection, what factors protect against infection, and how the virus is transmitted through this experiment.
Researchers also hope to accelerate the end of COVID-19 by contributing to the development of better vaccines and treatments.
Professor Robert Reed of the Southampton Biomedical Research Center emphasized that “this experiment will prove worthwhile given the emergence of new strains of the coronavirus and the possibility that a new vaccine will be needed to protect against them.”
However, there is also criticism for this experiment. Opponents argue that it is unethical to conduct in vivo experiments only because of being young without a cure for COVID-19.
He also pointed out that there are cases of serious development in young people, which can be dangerous.
[이상규 매경닷컴 기자 [email protected]]
[ⓒ 매일경제 & mk.co.kr, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
–
