U.K. Covid Study on Healthy People Was Safe, Researchers Say

(Bloomberg) -- A U.K. trial showed that scientists can safely expose young and healthy people to Covid-19 to learn more about the disease, paving the way for further studies, according to the partners leading the effort.

Clinicians tracked the outcomes in 36 participants ages 18 to 29 with no prior immunity to the virus in a controlled quarantined setting, according to a statement Wednesday from Open Orphan Plc, which conducted the study -- the first of its kind -- with Imperial College London.

The study was “completed with no serious adverse events or serious symptoms, demonstrating that a Covid-19 human challenge study is safe in healthy young adults,” Cathal Friel, executive chairman of Open Orphan, said in the statement. 

The U.K. plan to go ahead with human challenge trials in 2020 had sparked debate over exposing healthy volunteers to potential risks.  

Researchers found that participants began to develop symptoms on average about two days after contact with the virus. They reported no serious symptoms in the participants, mild to moderate cold-like symptoms in 16 and a lost or changed sense of smell in 13. The infection first appears in the throat, and infectious virus peaks about five days in, when it is significantly more abundant in the nose, according to the findings. 

Not everyone included in the study tested positive for Covid-19, prompting further analysis, Christopher Chiu, professor of infectious diseases at Imperial College and chief investigator on the trial, said.

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