Volunteers Get The Flu… On Purpose

    HealthBeat Deliberate Flu

    Getting the flu is something we usually avoid, but some people are getting it on purpose.

    FOX News Radio’s Tonya J. Powers has more on a government study that could give scientists a lot more to work with:

    Volunteer to get the flu? Sounds crazy, right?

    National Institutes of Health scientist Dr. Matthew Memoli is leading the study and says they give the flu virus to healthy volunteers to find out…

    (Dr. Memoli) “How the body fights flu, what we can do to improve current vaccines, and then eventually develop this into a system that we can use to rapidly test new drugs and vaccines in the future.”

    So, why not use people who already have the flu?

    Timing.

    (Dr. Memoli) “You don’t know when they were exposed, how long they’ve had the virus.”

    The volunteers aren’t doing it for free. They’re getting paid $3,000 for their experience.

    Tonya J. Powers, FOX News Radio.

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