Volunteers to get R73k to be infected with coronavirus to find vaccine
- Scientists have revealed that they would pay to infect volunteers with a strain of the deadly coronavirus bug - for £3 500 (R73 400)
- Up to 24 people would be paid to participate in vaccine research into the virus, taking part as a group
- They would be deliberately infected with a less harmful form of Covid-19 at a lab in East London with the hope of developing a vaccine as soon as possible and the aim to save lives
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Information reaching Briefly.co.za has stated that scientists have revealed that they would infect volunteers with a strain of the deadly bug for R73 400.
According to a report by thesun.co.uk, up to 24 people would be paid at a go to be infected with a less harmful form of Covid-19 at a lab in East London.
This, according to the report, forms part of a global experiment in which the participants would be regularly monitored by doctors in protective gear while in quarantine for 14 days.
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Experts firmly believe that the initiative will aid them to develop a vaccine that could be used to protect the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.
The report further revealed that testing would begin once Hvivo, the company that runs the quarantine unit at the Queen Mary BioEnterprises Innovation Centre in Whitechapel, has secured permission from the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Scientists will infect participants with two common strains of coronavirus - 0C43 and 229E - which cause mild respiratory illness.
Professor John Oxford, an expert in virology at the Queen Mary University of London, said volunteers would feel the symptoms of a cough or cold, which would model those of Covid-19.
They will be screened to ensure they don't already have antibodies against coronavirus.
Meanwhile, Briefly.co.za reported previously that South Africa now has seven positive Covid-19 cases. Four more people of the 10 who holidayed together in Italy have tested positive for the new virus.
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Source: Briefly News
