A United Kingdom study which will infect participants with COVID-19 has received ethics approval and will begin within a month, according to a U.K. government press release.
The study will allow doctors to gain more knowledge of the virus and help the country’s response to the pandemic, according to the press release published Wednesday.
Researchers will gather up to 90 young and healthy volunteers aged 18-30 and expose them to the coronavirus in a controlled environment, CNBC reported. The goal of the study is to help doctors understand how the virus affects people and identify the smallest amount of the disease necessary for infection, which will aid in development of vaccines and treatment.
Clinical support technician Douglas Condie extracts viruses from swab samples so that the genetic structure of a virus can be analysed and identified in the coronavirus testing laboratory at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, on February 19, 2020 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Jane Barlow – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Researchers will initially use the variant of the virus that has been seen in the UK since March of last year and has proven to pose minimal risk to young healthy adults according to The Guardian. Scientists and medics will closely observe the impact of the virus on volunteers and monitor them 24 hours a day. (RELATED: Company Approved To Begin Human Trials Of Nasal COVID-19 Vaccine)
After the initial study is completed, potential vaccines, which have been proven to be safe, could be administered to some volunteers who are then exposed to the virus in order to determine which vaccines are the most effective.