POLL: Would You Volunteer to Get the Flu If You Were Paid $3K?
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Ah, the age-old question: What would you do to turn a quick buck?
The AP reports that intrepid volunteers are signing up to be infected by influenza—by having the live viruses squirted up their noses, no less—in exchange for a hefty sum: $3,000 in compensation. It’s part of a government research study out of the National Institutes of Health to track how healthy bodies react to—and fight off—the flu virus. The hope is that by better understanding the body’s defense mechanisms, scientists will be able to brew better, more potent vaccines.
Because of the inherent risks, they’re being very careful with who they recruit for the study, of course: volunteers who are healthy and no older than 50. And they’re infecting them with a relatively mild strain of the flu, which induces fever, congestion and fatigue within a few days.
Still. It is the flu. And being sick is the worst.
So is it worth the cash? Take our poll below.
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