Coronavirus: Volunteers offered £100 a day to be infected with virus in race to find vaccine

Trials hope to find solution to stem rapidly spreading disease

A new scientific study is asking members of the public to volunteer to be infected with a coronavirus in return for cash.

The trial, led by Hvivo, will recruit 24 people to be infected with two different strains of coronavirus that are similar to the Covid-19 virus currently plaguing numerous countries around the world.

Hvivo, which is among 20 firms and organisations racing to find a vaccine for Covid-19, frequently runs similar trials under the programme FluCamp to find vaccines for flus and common colds.

During the trials, volunteers will be compensated a minimum of £100 per day, according to the FluCamp website.

After being infected with the less aggressive strains of the virus, volunteers will receive an Hvivo vaccine while they are quarantined and monitored, according to the European Pharmaceutical Manufacturer (EPM).

The two strains that are to be administered, OC43 and 229E, have been widespread in the community for a number of years and cause only a mild respiratory illness, according to the report.

This type of trial is known as a ’Controlled Human Infection Model’ and will see Hvivo’s 24-bedroom clinic at the Queen Mary Innovation Centre in Whitechapel, east London, filled with volunteers.

The study will aim to generate data that helps inform an effective selection of best candidates and products that should be fast-tracked for field testing against Covid-19, said EPM.

It could help advance the process of creating a vaccine and will use more common coronavirus strains rather than the aggressive Covid-19 form.

Hvivo has reportedly stated that these common coronaviruses have safely been administered to volunteers in the trial.

Cathal Friel, executive chairman of Open Orphan, Hvivo’s parent company, commented: “We are very happy to be able to try and assist in the battle against Covid-19.”

“Our Hvivo scientists and virologists, and especially Hvivo’s founder and the now chairman of our Scientific Advisory Board professor John Oxford, have a long history and experience of successfully developing challenge studies.”

Pharmaceutical companies are racing to find a vaccine for the virus as the spread of the virus continues to escalate worldwide, with infections surpassing 100,000 recorded cases over the weekend.