You Can Get Paid Over $4,500 To Be Infected With The Coronavirus

Hvivo, the company behind the laboratory at Queen Mary in London, will pay volunteers $4,500 to be infected with the coronavirus.

Getty Image / STR / Contributor


Struggling with your bills? Is your side hustle not paying you enough? Have you considered becoming a human guinea pig for coronavirus research? Sure, the COVID-19 kills 3.4% of those it infects according to the World Health Organization, but that means that 96.6% of people didn’t die. And if you survive, that means you can finally afford to go on that Italian cruise you’ve been dreaming of for years, and as a bonus — you’ll have built up some immunity to the coronavirus to survive your trip to Venice. Win-win.

A research company is paying people to get infected with the coronavirus. Yes, that coronavirus. The coronavirus that has whipped the entire planet into a doomsday prepper panic and has people fighting each other over the last roll of toilet paper and last bottle of Purell. The same coronavirus that has infected nearly 110,000 people on every continent except for Antarctica and killed nearly 4,000.

The British company Hvivo, which describes itself as “an industry-leading services provider in viral challenge studies and laboratory services supporting product development for customers developing antivirals, vaccines, and respiratory therapeutics, is paying people to intentionally catch the coronavirus. The virus research company is paying £3,500, equivalent to over $4,500, to volunteers to catch the deadly respiratory disease.

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Willing participants will be intentionally infected with COVID-19 and then live in quarantine for two weeks at the Queen Mary BioEnterprises Innovation Centre in Whitechapel, London. The human guinea pigs will not be able to exercise or have physical contact with other people. Their diet will also be highly regimented.

To give volunteers a fighting chance at surviving, they will be infected with the less aggressive strain of the coronavirus. Participants will be infected with the 0C43 and 229E strains of the virus and will cause mild respiratory symptoms.

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Some studies have estimated that 60% of the human population with get infected with COVID-19, so you might as well get paid for getting deathly sick.

Scientists hope that the research will help develop a coronavirus vaccine. There are currently over 20 COVID-19 vaccines in development, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). There are now 273 confirmed cases of coronavirus in England.

But only 24 lucky volunteers will be selected at a time. May the odds be forever in your favor.

Coronavirus Update: Over 100,000 Cases, Infected Man Attended Tool Concert, $8.3B In Aid, 3,500-Person Cruise Ship Waiting

[DailyStar]