The flu is an illness that no one wants to get. However, scientists are paying people to get the flu. The participants will get to stay in a hotel and get paid $3,500 to let scientists inject them with the flu. The subjects will stay in the hotel for 10 days and be exposed to various strains of the flu.
The subjects will have private bathrooms, televisions, wi-fi and around-the-clock nursing staff. The researchers stated that this will help people come up with a more effective flu vaccine. The United States government stated that coming up with a universal flu vaccine is a top priority.
The reason that last year’s flu season was so bad was because the vaccine was ineffective. According to the Center for Disease Control, the vaccine was 30 percent effective. The virus mutates each year, so it can be hard to come up with an effective vaccine. That is why a universal vaccine will take the guesswork out of coming with a vaccine.
Dr. Daniel Hoft is the director of the St. Louis University Center for Vaccine Development. He stated that this study is being conducted for the sake of science. The subjects will stay at a place called Hotel Influenza. They will not be allowed to leave the hotel during their 10-day stay. However, the subjects who do not get sick after being exposed to the virus will be sent home.
Dr. Hoft stated that if the results of the study are promising, then people will be more willing to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in the vaccine. He believes that exposing people to multiple viruses may make it easier for the body to fight off the flu. The reason that flu shots often do not work well is because the virus mutates every year.
