‘Challenge studies’: Should we be testing COVID vaccines by intentionally infecting volunteers?

To those who've never thought about volunteering to be intentionally infected to test a vaccine, the idea may at first seem a bit bonkers. But such "challenge" studies not only have a rich history, but nearly 40,000 people have already checked the box "I am interested in being exposed to the coronavirus to speed up vaccine development" at 1daysooner, a website and non-profit organization that launched in April.

 

Challenge studies go by other names: "controlled human infection models," "human viral challenge," and "purposeful infection." Dripping virus-tainted saltwater into a volunteer's nostrils enables researchers to track infection, and the immune system's response to it, right from the start. The approach complements phase 3 clinical "field" trials of efficacy that await natural infection in the community.

 

To continue reading, go to Genetic Literacy Project, where this post first appeared.