Exploring the acceptability of controlled human infection with SARSCoV2-a public consultation.
BMC Med
; 18(1): 209, 2020 07 07.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-656279
ABSTRACT
Rapid development of an effective vaccine for SARSCoV2 is a global priority. A controlled human infection model (CHIM) would accelerate the efficacy assessment of candidate vaccines. This strategy would require deliberate exposure of volunteers to SARSCoV2 with no currently available treatment and a small but definite risk of serious illness or death. This raises complex questions about the social and ethical acceptability of risk to individuals, given the potential benefit to the wider population, and as such, a study cannot be done without public involvement. We conducted a structured public consultation with 57 individuals aged 20-40 years to understand public attitudes to a CHIM, and pre-requisites for enrolment. The overall response to this strategy was positive, and many would volunteer altruistically. Carefully controlled infection is viewed as safer than natural exposure to wild virus. The prolonged social isolation required for the proposed CHIM is considered an obstacle but not insurmountable, with reasonable compensation and supportive care. Given the significant level of public interest, a CHIM should be done as open science with regular, controlled dissemination of information into the public domain. Importantly, there was a strong view that the final decision whether to conduct a CHIM should be in the hands of qualified and experienced clinician-scientists and the authorities.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Viral Vaccines
/
Attitude to Health
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Biomedical Research
/
Pandemics
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Vaccines
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
BMC Med
Journal subject:
Medicine
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
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