Five volunteers exposed to Covid-19 virus in first such study in S'pore

It is part of efforts to strengthen country's preparedness and response to diseases

- Joyce Teo

Five young volunteers here have been deliberately exposed to the Covid-19 virus in the country's first human challenge study, paving the way for more of such studies to be conducted here to strengthen Singapore's disease preparedness and response.

Unlike a traditional study, where subjects are infected naturally, a human challenge study intentionally exposes volunteers to a virus in a controlled environment, so that researchers have a better chance of gaining more precise insights about the infectious agent in less time. This can help accelerate the development of vaccines and therapeutics.

The study, known as Sing-CoV, is being conducted at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). By September or October, the research team aims to recruit for the study a total of 20 healthy people aged 21 to 30 who have already been vaccinated against Covid-19, and follow up with them on five occasions for up to a year.

While the study will help scientists understand why Covid-19 infections still occur despite previous vaccinations and infections, the authorities' broader aim is to develop the framework and expertise to conduct future human challenge studies.

"We need to continually strengthen Singapore's preparedness and response to infectious diseases, including 'Disease X', a future disease that could result in a pandemic," said Professor Vernon Lee, the incoming chief executive officer of the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA), a new public health agency dedicated to managing communicable diseases, which will be formed on April 1.

He added that the Sing-CoV human challenge study adds a new instrument in Singapore's toolkit to be better prepared and ready for the next infectious disease challenge, and to develop targeted response measures more rapidly.

Future human challenge studies will be conducted by CDA, he said.