Conversation

I've known the benefits of challenge trials for years. But their ethics made me uneasy. How can people consent to risks no one knows about? How do we compensate them? So I wrote about it for the

@guardian

. Some say this is their favourite article of mine.

theguardian.com

The big idea: Should we give people diseases in order to learn how to cure them?

With the right ethical safeguards, could ‘challenge trials’ defend against future pandemics?

Saloni

@salonium

Nov 2, 2022

What gets missed in many debates about challenge trials is that they fall under two broad categories. Diseases that we already know a lot about and can make very safe for people who participate in trials, and diseases that we don't and can't.

Saloni

@salonium

Nov 2, 2022

Challenge trials are ongoing for around 17 different diseases that scientists have learnt how to make safe for participants – influenza, malaria, RSV, cholera, dengue, salmonella, pertusis, and even tuberculosis.

Saloni

@salonium

Nov 2, 2022

But what about other diseases, where we don't know the risks? This is where I believe we need to look towards the history of infectious diseases – both good & bad – to see the potential they could have in the future.

theguardian.com

The big idea: Should we give people diseases in order to learn how to cure them?

With the right ethical safeguards, could ‘challenge trials’ defend against future pandemics?

Saloni

@salonium

In case you personally are interested in volunteering for challenge trials, I recommend checking out 1DaySooner 1daysooner.org which supports volunteers and connects them to trials. I signed up a few months ago!

1daysooner.org

1Day Sooner

In a human challenge trial, healthy volunteers are exposed to a disease in a controlled setting, testing vaccines and other critical medical research. 1Day Sooner brings the voices of these volunte...

12:05 PM · Nov 2, 2022

Replying to

And if you're interested in diving into this more, I recommend this recent very detailed review of the current state of challenge trials on each infectious disease: europepmc.org/article/med/35

Replying to

Way back in June 2020 for me. 🙂 I was lucky to hear about it early, I think.