Covid Vaccine Challenge Trials - Are We Sure It's A Good Idea to Speed Up the Research?

<p>The Best Paragraph I've Read:</p> <p><br></p> <p><em>"Our situation in this pandemic is analogous to war, in which there is a long tradition of volunteers risking their health and lives on dangerous missions for which they understand the risks and are willing to do so in order to help save the lives of others."</em></p> <p><br></p> <p>This paragraph comes from a letter written by thirty-five members of congress. &nbsp;The representatives are urging the US government to allow challenge trials, which in theory, could speed up the development of a Covid vaccine. &nbsp;But allowing these sorts of trials bring up many ethical concerns. &nbsp;</p> <p><br></p> <p>Here is the full letter: &nbsp;<a href="https://foster.house.gov/sites/foster.house.gov/files/2020.04.20_Ltr%20to%20HHS%20%20FDA%20on%20Rapid%20Vaccine%20Deployment%20for%20COVID-19%20-%20Signed.pdf">https://foster.house.gov/sites/foster.house.gov/files/2020.04.20_Ltr%20to%20HHS%20%20FDA%20on%20Rapid%20Vaccine%20Deployment%20for%20COVID-19%20-%20Signed.pdf</a></p> <p><br></p> <p>Don and I discuss the individual and societal opportunity costs behind using Challenge Trials.</p>