J Med Ethics . Why continuing uncertainties are no reason to postpone challenge trials for coronavirus vaccines

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J Med Ethics


. 2020 Jul 13;medethics-2020-106501.
doi: 10.1136/medethics-2020-106501. Online ahead of print.
Why continuing uncertainties are no reason to postpone challenge trials for coronavirus vaccines


Robert Steel ¹ , Lara Buchak ² , Nir Eyal ³



Affiliations

• PMID: 32661074
• DOI: 10.1136/medethics-2020-106501

Abstract

To counter the pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), some have proposed accelerating SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development through controlled human infection (or 'challenge') trials. These trials would involve the deliberate exposure of relatively few young, healthy volunteers to SARS-CoV-2. We defend this proposal against the charge that there is still too much uncertainty surrounding the risks of COVID-19 to responsibly run such a trial.

Keywords: clinical trials; ethics; philosophical ethics; research ethics.