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Exploring the acceptability of controlled human infection with SARSCoV2 – a public consultation

Exploring the acceptability of controlled human infection with SARSCoV2 – a public consultation
Exploring the acceptability of controlled human infection with SARSCoV2 – a public consultation
Rapid development of an effective vaccine for SARSCoV2 is a global priority. A controlled human infection model (CHIM) would accelerate the efficacy assessment of candidate vaccines. This strategy would require deliberate exposure of volunteers to SARSCoV2 with no currently available treatment and a small but definite risk of serious illness or death. This raises complex questions about the social and ethical acceptability of risk to individuals, given the potential benefit to the wider population, and as such, a study cannot be done without public involvement. We conducted a structured public consultation with 57 individuals aged 20–40 years to understand public attitudes to a CHIM, and pre-requisites for enrolment. The overall response to this strategy was positive, and many would volunteer altruistically. Carefully controlled infection is viewed as safer than natural exposure to wild virus. The prolonged social isolation required for the proposed CHIM is considered an obstacle but not insurmountable, with reasonable compensation and supportive care. Given the significant level of public interest, a CHIM should be done as open science with regular, controlled dissemination of information into the public domain. Importantly, there was a strong view that the final decision whether to conduct a CHIM should be in the hands of qualified and experienced clinician-scientists and the authorities.
COVID-19, Controlled human infection model, Public consultation, SARSCoV2
1741-7015
1-8
Gbesemete, Diane
45c5ae20-20f8-4bc0-b3cd-c9a102e94471
Barker, Mary
374310ad-d308-44af-b6da-515bf5d2d6d2
Lawrence, Wendy
e9babc0a-02c9-41df-a289-7b18f17bf7d8
Watson, Daniella
26005c9f-779f-407b-b7e4-b7c9b812b6be
De Graaf, Hans
447e78ed-346f-45bb-9238-fce2118d5559
Read, Robert
b5caca7b-0063-438a-b703-7ecbb6fc2b51
Gbesemete, Diane
45c5ae20-20f8-4bc0-b3cd-c9a102e94471
Barker, Mary
374310ad-d308-44af-b6da-515bf5d2d6d2
Lawrence, Wendy
e9babc0a-02c9-41df-a289-7b18f17bf7d8
Watson, Daniella
26005c9f-779f-407b-b7e4-b7c9b812b6be
De Graaf, Hans
447e78ed-346f-45bb-9238-fce2118d5559
Read, Robert
b5caca7b-0063-438a-b703-7ecbb6fc2b51

Gbesemete, Diane, Barker, Mary, Lawrence, Wendy, Watson, Daniella, De Graaf, Hans and Read, Robert (2020) Exploring the acceptability of controlled human infection with SARSCoV2 – a public consultation. BMC Medicine, 18 (1), 1-8, [209]. (doi:10.1186/s12916-020-01670-2).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Rapid development of an effective vaccine for SARSCoV2 is a global priority. A controlled human infection model (CHIM) would accelerate the efficacy assessment of candidate vaccines. This strategy would require deliberate exposure of volunteers to SARSCoV2 with no currently available treatment and a small but definite risk of serious illness or death. This raises complex questions about the social and ethical acceptability of risk to individuals, given the potential benefit to the wider population, and as such, a study cannot be done without public involvement. We conducted a structured public consultation with 57 individuals aged 20–40 years to understand public attitudes to a CHIM, and pre-requisites for enrolment. The overall response to this strategy was positive, and many would volunteer altruistically. Carefully controlled infection is viewed as safer than natural exposure to wild virus. The prolonged social isolation required for the proposed CHIM is considered an obstacle but not insurmountable, with reasonable compensation and supportive care. Given the significant level of public interest, a CHIM should be done as open science with regular, controlled dissemination of information into the public domain. Importantly, there was a strong view that the final decision whether to conduct a CHIM should be in the hands of qualified and experienced clinician-scientists and the authorities.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 19 June 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 7 July 2020
Published date: 7 July 2020
Additional Information: Funding Information: This public consultation was funded by the NIHR Southampton BRC. The funding body had no further role in the public consultation or writing of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s).
Keywords: COVID-19, Controlled human infection model, Public consultation, SARSCoV2

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 443354
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/443354
ISSN: 1741-7015
PURE UUID: 97b79acc-902f-4eb0-8cf9-ccb679739d99
ORCID for Mary Barker: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-2976-0217
ORCID for Wendy Lawrence: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1264-0438
ORCID for Robert Read: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4297-6728

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 21 Aug 2020 16:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:28

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Contributors

Author: Diane Gbesemete
Author: Mary Barker ORCID iD
Author: Wendy Lawrence ORCID iD
Author: Daniella Watson
Author: Hans De Graaf
Author: Robert Read ORCID iD

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