The United States is moving more cautiously, with leading government researchers saying human challenge trials might be too risky or unnecessary. But the British scientists say that the potential payoff is massive — that accelerating vaccine development by even three months could save hundreds of thousands of lives globally. But the British government hopes challenge ­trials will help accelerate the study of vaccines in mid-stages of development and allow for head-to-head comparisons. In the modern era, challenge trials have been used extensively to study and find treatments for influenza, malaria, typhoid, dengue fever and cholera. With that in mind, he said, the need for human challenge trials is clear.

Source: Washington Post October 20, 2020 07:45 UTC