Has anyone ever been excited to get the flu? Probably not, but the St. Louis University Center for Vaccine Development is looking to pay willing participants, as part of a clinical trial, $3,310 to infect themselves all in the name of science.
The clinical trial, which is being conducted at four Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units (VTEUs) and is supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), aims to study what happens when a healthy person is infected with the virus and how their body handles the infection.
Would you willingly infect yourself with the flu?
In order to participate in the trial, participants must be healthy and between the ages of 18 and 50. According to the NIAID, those who volunteer for the trial will receive the virus “made under good manufacturing practice conditions” via a nasal spray. Those who are chosen will be monitored throughout the entire process, including several months following the moment they are infected.
Participants will remain in a clinic under observation for several days.
If you’re short on cash and considering applying to become a volunteer but are concerned about safety, the virus has been given to 400 other participants in previous trials. NIAID reported that during those trials there were “no significant safety issues or severe or complicated cases of influenza occurred, and no transmission of the virus outside of the clinic.”
To find out more information you can contact St. Louis University, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Duke University, or the lead VTEU, University of Maryland School of Medicine.
So, will you sign up and volunteer yourself to become infected?
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