UK scientists are planning to study how the immune system responds to being re-exposed to the coronavirus disease among recovered patients, Sky News reported on Monday.
According to the broadcaster, the so-called human challenge trial will be conducted by the University of Oxford among people aged 18 to 30 who already had the disease. Participants will be re-exposed to the virus in a controlled environment and then quarantined for 17 days. Each participant will receive about 5,000 pounds (almost $7,000).
The research aims to establish the dose of coronavirus that is necessary to trigger reinfection and what it means for developing an immune response against COVID-19.
The trial, funded by the Wellcome Trust foundation, may start this month if it receives ethics approval, the newspaper Mirror reports. It is expected to have two stages, with the first one involving 64 people. The second stage is expected to start during summer.
