World first: UK to deliberately infect volunteers with COVID

As part of a government-backed ‘human challenge’ study, up to 90 young people will be exposed to the coronavirus.

The United Kingdom is set to become the first country in the world to deliberately expose volunteers to the novel coronavirus in a so-called human challenge study hoped to aid the development of vaccines and treatments. Up to 90 healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 30 will be exposed to the virus in a “safe and controlled environment” during the trial, which will begin within a month, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said in a statement on Wednesday. The UK’s clinical trials ethics body has approved the study, which will use the lowest amount of virus needed to cause an infection, BEIS said.