Young people who have previously had COVID-19 are to be deliberately exposed to the virus for a second time.
It’s all part of a new study that aims to monitor how their immune systems react.
The University of Oxford’s “human challenge” trial – which is being widely reported on this morning – also hopes to discover what dose of coronavirus (COVID-19) is needed to cause a reinfection, and what this may mean for developing protective immunity against the disease.
The decision to carry out the study comes after recent research has suggested that prior infection may not fully protect young people from COVID-19 in the future, with an observational study performed in the US indicating that 10% of participants ended up getting reinfected.
So, what does the study entail then?
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As part of the trial, young people – between the ages of 18 to 30 – who have previously already been naturally infected with COVID-19, will be recruited and then re-exposed to the virus in a safe, controlled environment, all while being quarantined for 17 days and cared for by researchers at a hospital until they are no longer at risk of infecting others.
Once the trail is complete, participants will then receive just under £5,000 as payment.
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The study will take phase in two phases.
Flickr
The first phase – which will involve 64 healthy volunteers – aims to establish the lowest dose of virus which can take hold and start replicating, and once the dosing amount is established, it will be used to infect participants in the second phase of the study.
Regular check-ups in the year after reinfection will also help to establish the immune response generated by the virus, as well as contributing to the creation of better vaccines and a greater understanding of how long immunity lasts.
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Professor Helen McShane, the chief investigator, said: “Challenge studies tell us things that other studies cannot because, unlike natural infection, they are tightly controlled.
“When we reinfect these participants, we will know exactly how their immune system has reacted to the first COVID infection, exactly when the second infection occurs, and exactly how much virus they got.
“As well as enhancing our basic understanding, this may help us to design tests that can accurately predict whether people are protected”.
The trial is expected to start in the summer.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
News
Government aims to ‘turn the tide’ on homelessness with £1 billion funding boost
Emily Sergeant
Nearly £1 billion of funding is being pumped into Council budgets to help “break the cycle of spiralling homelessness” in 2025.
As part of the Government‘s wider ‘Plan For Change’, and in a bid to help tackle, reduce, and prevent homelessness next year, it’s been announced that more resources will be be made available for workers on the frontline who provide essential services to get rough sleepers off the street and into secure housing.
This significant investment means Councils will now be “better equipped” to step in early and stop households from becoming homeless in the first place.
According to the Government’s plans, these funded measures will include mediation with landlords or families to prevent evictions, helping homeless people find new homes, and providing deposits to access private renting.
This government is determined to tackle, reduce and prevent homelessness.
— Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Gov (@mhclg) December 18, 2024
The funding will also be used to address the growing use of B&Bs and nightly-let accommodation, and the streamlining of funding structures to make it easier for Councils to spend their cash.
Areas across the UK can also choose to channel resources into services such as Housing First.
Housing First has been massively successful in Greater Manchester, and has helped house hundreds of our region’s rough sleepers since it was first piloted, being described as “life-changing” along the way.
More than £633 million of the funding will be allocated for the Homelessness Prevention Grant – which is a £192 million increase from this year – while £185.6 million will go to the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant, more than £37 million to the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme, and £5 million will be for the Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots.
This new £1 billion funding boost comes after it was announced back in September that Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions will be abolished in England next year as part of the landmark Renters’ Rights Bill.
It will also look to support the Government’s ambition to deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housing in a generation – with an extra £500 million ploughed into the Affordable Homes Programme to build tens of thousands of affordable homes across the country.
Featured Image – Gary Knight (via Flickr)
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Avanti West Coast staff set to strike on major days over festive period
Emily Sergeant
Avanti West Coast staff are set to strike on some major days over the festive period, it has been announced.
Train managers who are members of the RMT Union will stage industrial action on New Year’s Eve and 2 January 2025 after “overwhelmingly rejecting” the train company’s “inadequate proposals” on rest day working arrangements.
On top of this, strikes will also go ahead on Sundays between 12 January and 25 May too.
According to the union, up to 400 members are involved in the dispute with Avanti, and 83% of those voted against a suggested deal.
Strikes were previously planned for 22, 23, and 29 December as well, but they were suspended last week after a suggested agreement was put to a referendum of RMT members.
Avanti West Coast staff are set to strike on several major days over the festive period / Credit: Avanti West Coast
“Our members have resoundingly rejected Avanti’s latest offers in two referendums,” explained an RMT spokesperson. “Sustained strike action is now the only way to focus management’s minds on reaching a negotiated settlement with the union.”
In case you weren’t familiar, Avanti’s West Coast Main Line operates six routes along the west of the UK, including from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly, as well as services from London to other major cities such as to Blackpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Holyhead, Wrexham, and Liverpool.
Avanti has warned its customers that the strikes will likely cause “significant disruption” on the West Coast Main Line.
The train operator took to X to assure that its plans will be confirmed “as soon as possible”.
The RMT union has announced strike action affecting Avanti West Coast on 31 December and 2 January, along with all Sundays from 12 January to 25 May 2025. We’re looking at how this industrial action will impact our services and we’ll confirm our plans as soon as possible.
“The RMT union has announced strike action affecting Avanti West Coast on 31 December and 2 January, along with all Sundays from 12 January to 25 May 2025,” the statement reads on X.
“We’re looking at how this industrial action will impact our services and we’ll confirm our plans as soon as possible.”
An Avanti West Coast spokesperson also added in response to the industrial action being called yesterday: “We’re disappointed our train managers who are RMT members have voted to decline the very reasonable, revised offer made to them to resolve the rest day working dispute and avoid inconveniencing our customers.
The Manc -
19th April 2021 
