UK Researchers Will Reinfect COVID-19 Survivors To Study Immune Response
The study would take healthy individuals who have successfully recovered from the novel coronavirus from the age group of 18 to 30 years, at least three months prior to entering the study and have antibodies against the novel coronavirus still in their bod
Researchers in the UK are trying to figure out what kind of immune response would protect recovered COVID-19 patients against reinfection.
And for this, they¡¯re looking for volunteers who are willing to get reinfected by the novel coronavirus again.
Reuters
Reported first by the Guardian, while this study might sound rather shocking, especially to someone who has managed to recover from the deadly disease, authorities have already provided approval for conducting the trials to the University of Oxford.
Also Read: Getting COVID-19 Again Is Highly Unlikely, Reassure Medical Experts
The study would take healthy individuals who have successfully recovered from the novel coronavirus from the age group of 18 to 30 years, at least three months prior to entering the study and have antibodies against the novel coronavirus still in their body.
The study will be conducted in two phases -- phase I will see a total of 24 volunteers -- that will try to find the lowest dose of SARS CoV-2 that can cause an infection while producing little or no symptoms in the test subjects.
The second phase will see 10 to 40 volunteers who will receive the dose determined in the first phase. With this study, researchers aim to learn the levels of antibodies or T-cells necessary for protecting against reinfection.
After being exposed to the virus, the participants will be put under quarantine for 17 days while being closely monitored and will undergo several tests including CT scans of lungs and MRI of hearts too.
Reuters
Also Read: Previous COVID Infection Offers Better Immunity Than Oxford Vaccine, Says Study
Participants who do develop symptoms of COVID-19 will be treated with Regeneron's monoclonal antibodies, which have been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalizations from COVID-19.
They will be observed for at least eight months after their recovery from their second infection. Each participant will receive nearly ?5,000 for being included in the study.
According to researchers, the first phase of the study is scheduled to start this month, with the second phase expected to begin later in the summer.
