OVER 1,600 CANADIANS VOLUNTEER TO BE DELIBERATELY EXPOSED TO CORONAVIRUS

A GROWING PETITION, SPONSORED BY MP MARCUS POWLOWSKI, CALLS ON THE GOVERNMENT TO PUBLICLY ANNOUNCE COVID-19 HUMAN CHALLENGE TRIALS 

Over 1,600 Canadians have volunteered to be deliberately exposed to the coronavirus with 1Day Sooner, an organization that advocates on behalf of these “human challenge trial” volunteers. In such a trial, healthy volunteers are exposed to a virus under controlled conditions to quickly test vaccines and learn more about the disease, potentially saving tens of thousands of lives. 

Now, over 150 Canadians have signed apublic petition calling on the Government of Canada to “publicly announce a plan for COVID-19 human challenge trials.” The petition is sponsored by MP Marcus Powlowski of Thunder Bay-Rainy River and signed by the below Canadian scientists. This comes after MP Marcus and nearly a dozen other MPs and scientists penned a Toronto Star op-ed on August 24th  urging the government to green-light COVID-19 human challenge trials. 

Below you can find the pictures, first names, locations, and quotes of signatories of the new petition.

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To connect with any of the below, or any Canadian human challenge trial volunteers, or a 1Day Sooner team member,  please email media@1daysooner.org

Marcus Powlowski, Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay-Rainy River

“There are few issues more important in the world right now than developing a successful vaccine for COVID-19. Governments globally should seriously consider the use of challenge trials as a way to speed up the vaccine development process and, by doing so, potentially save thousands of lives and billions of dollars in lasting economic damage."

Dr. Anand Kumar, Professor of Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology, Sections of Infectious Diseases and Critical Care Medicine, at the University of Manitoba.

Dr. Micheal Silverman, Chair and Chief of Adult Infectious Disease at Western University

Dr. Bill Cameron, Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, University of Ottawa at The Ottawa Hospital

Conor Barnes, 1Day Sooner volunteer from Kelowna, Canada. 

“Sometimes you should take one for the team, and this is a very big team.”