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This content will become publicly available on April 19, 2026

Title: Assessing the risks of current COVID-19 challenge trials systematically
A large international collaboration has started a series of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) human challenge trials (HCTs). However, critics of previously proposed COVID HCTs deemed them unethical for posing excessive risks to participants. These concerns raise the need to evaluate the risks of the planned COVID HCTs. Systematic analysis reveals that, although the risks of these trials would be high in some populations, they are clearly acceptable for eligible individuals and may even qualify as "minimal" for them. This conclusion is important for evaluating the planned COVID HCTs and highlights the importance of assessing the risks of later COVID HCTs and HCTs in future pandemics systematically.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2419365 2039320
PAR ID:
10586409
Author(s) / Creator(s):
;
Publisher / Repository:
Elsevier
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Vaccine
ISSN:
0264-410X
Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant Challenge trials Assessment, Risk benefit Ethics Minimal risk
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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