Windsor Castle, Ingledera. Credito: Kirsty Wicklesworth (AP)
Researchers in the UK are urging those who have previously contracted Covit-19 to volunteer for one last task: to deliberately allow the corona virus to re-emerge. Scientists hope this study will help them better understand the limits of the natural immune system.
Since the onset of the epidemic, there has been concern that a significant number of people may lose their natural immunity to the virus in a relatively short period of time. There have been several confirmed cases of restoration, in which people died or had severe symptoms for a second time. But, some research Recommended This restoration is rare among survivors in the first three months after infection, while other studies have concluded that the immune system should remain strong for eight months or more.
All research on restoration to date is based on laboratory or observational data. But some scientists at Oxford University used a different approach to studying Govt-19 through human challenge experiments. In February, they deliberately began exposing young, healthy volunteers to the virus, hoping to monitor the normal progression of the infection. On Monday, they began a similar study with young, healthy people who once had Covit-19.
“Challenge studies tell us things other studies can’t do because, unlike natural infections, they are tightly controlled,” said Helen McShane, an Oxford vaccine expert and lead scientist for the new program. Release Published by the University. “As we rearrange these participants, we know how their immune system reacted to the first Govt infection, and how much the virus contracted during the second infection.
The study will work in two phases, with two separate groups. The first phase is expected to enroll 64 people between the ages of 18 and 34, with 50% of volunteers attempting to successfully detect the minimal amount of virus needed to regenerate, with few or no symptoms. After that, they will be isolated for at least 17 days, and the symptomatologist will receive experimental treatment with monoglonal antibodies produced by Regeneran. The second phase, which is expected to take place in the coming months, will expose all volunteers to pre-installed virus levels and record what happens to them.
Human challenge tests have been used incessantly to study infectious diseases in the past. But some scientists and ethical experts Claim They may not be appropriate to study Covid-19 because it is a new disease with potential risks unknown even to young, healthy people. Still, both tests have been published by organizations such as UK and 1Tasuner Claim They have identified tens of thousands of potential volunteers worldwide who are willing to take part in these trials.
If these challenging trials work as intended, they are expected to provide valuable information on how to better develop new vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 in the future.
