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Human Infection Challenge Studies: a Test for the Social Value Criterion of Research Ethics.

Nicholas Greig Evans
Published in: mSphere (2020)
Human infection challenge studies involving the intentional infection of research participants with a disease-causing agent have recently been suggested as a means to speed up the search for a vaccine for the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Calls for challenge studies, however, rely on the expected social value of these studies. This value represents more than the simple possibility that a successful study will lead to the rapid development and dissemination of vaccines but also some expectation that this will actually occur. I show how this expectation may not be realistic in the current political moment and offer potential ways to make sure that any challenge trials that arise actually achieve their goals.
Keyphrases
  • coronavirus disease
  • case control
  • endothelial cells
  • healthcare
  • mental health
  • public health
  • climate change
  • sars cov
  • risk assessment
  • global health
  • deep learning
  • artificial intelligence
  • sensitive detection