Why do people respond to COVID-19 infections differently? Sponsored by Imperial College London, MUSICC has opened recruitment for its second human challenge study, COVHIC003, in order to answer this question.
The study is looking for healthy volunteers aged 18-50 years old, who will be deliberately infected with the COVID-19 virus. Participants will be closely monitored by healthcare professionals in a quarantine setting and paid up to £3,935 for their time and inconvenience.
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The study is designed to enable future research, by gaining understanding of the type of immune responses that stop people being infected by SARS-CoV-2, and the impact the virus has on the immune system. This could eventually contribute to the development of COVID-19 vaccines that reduce transmission of the virus.
The COVHIC003 study is focusing on establishing what dose of virus is required to cause infection in around 50-70% of people, but with the aim of causing minimal or no symptoms.
Safety within human challenge studies is of the highest priority. As well as close monitoring of participants, there are very strict selection criteria for who can take part.
Credit: Dave Guttridge/Imperial College London
The study will be carried out in London, Oxford and Southampton, with different sites in these locations carrying out different stages of the study.
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To find out more information about the COVHIC003 study and how to get involved, head to MUSICC’s Get Involved page.
